LSD
was first synthesized in 1938 by a chemist called
Dr. Albert Hofmann
who
worked for Sandoz Laboratories in Switzerland. LSD-25 (the 25th lysergic
acid derivative he synthesised) was initially developed as a circulatory
and respiratory stimulant. However, no real benefits of the compound were
identified and its study was discontinued.
However, in April 1943 Hofmann, based on a
"peculiar presentiment" he experienced, he decided to synthesise
another batch. During this synthesis he absorbed a tiny amount
of LSD and became the first person to experience an LSD trip.
Based on his experience, he decided to take a larger dose three
days later and this incident became know as 'bicycle day'. For
more details click on the picture above of Dr. Hofmann in his
lab.
Timothy Leary
gave LSD its fame after being kicked out from Harvard University
for using students and other volunteers to study the effects of
LSD on the brain. He later became an advocate of the drug,
promoting its “mind expanding qualities” and coined the phrase
'Turn On, Tune In and Drop Out'.
LSD as a cultural phenomenon in the 1960s and 1970s has been a
subject for much literature, such as Tom Wolfe's “The
Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test”.
During the
late 1960’s and early 1970’s, the drug culture adopted LSD as
the “psychedelic” drug of choice. The infatuation with LSD
lasted for a number of years until considerable negative
publicity emerged on “bad trips” -psychotic psychological
traumas associated with the LSD high - and “flashbacks”,
uncontrollable recurring experiences. As a result of these
revelations and effective drug law enforcement efforts, LSD
dramatically decreased in popularity in the mid-1970’s.
Scientific study of LSD ceased around 1980 as research funding
declined.
Clicking on the image to the left
provides a link to a programme from the History Channel called
'Getting High - The history of LSD. For more information, see
below.
It will open in a new window.
GETTING HIGH explores the legacy of LSD with the help of
people like Tom Wolfe, author of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid
Test, which chronicles the San Francisco acid parties (where Ken
Kesey was the host), and Jay Stephens, author of Storming
Heaven. We'll visit the lab where the drug was first synthesized
by the Swiss scientist Albert Hoffman in 1943, and examine the
controversial tests conducted by the CIA and the military, as
well as other nations. See how Timothy Leary and Aldous Huxley
brought the drug into the public eye, while singer Grace Slick
and Ralph Metzner - a member of the Harvard group that conducted
early LSD experiments - share remarkably divergent tales of
their encounters with acid. And scholars add perspective by
examining the role of hallucinogens in societies throughout
history.
