Too Soon Before its Time?
As many of you may have heard, Albert Hofmann passed away April 29, 2008 at the age of 102. But how many of you know what he's famous for? Albert Hofmann was the inventor of a strong psychedelic drug that was quite popular in the 1960's. This drug is known as Delysid, LSD-25, or more commonly as just LSD.
LSD stands for lysergic acid diethylamide. It is one of the most powerful drugs ever created. Hofmann discovered this drug while studying the pharmaceutical potential of a couple plants by the names of medicinal plant squill and fungus ergot. Hofmann did not realize the strength of LSD until five years after his original discovery of it when he accidentally got some in his mouth. A tiny amount, such as 200 micrograms, can cause your mind to see the world in a warped way. Many users, including its inventor, describe the visions while on the drug to be similar to Salvador Dali paintings.
Many experiments were done in the 1950's and 1960's to find potential uses for LSD. In the 1950's it was tested as a cure for alcoholism and had a surprising 50% success rate. Also during this time it was tested by government organizations, including the CIA, as a possible mind controlling drug for use in interrogations.
As of now, LSD is considered illegal in many countries and areas such as the United States, Australia, and Europe. Though use of the drug as recreation has fallen from its peak use in the 1960's it is still widely used. It is commonly known as acid or battery acid. Though this purpose was obviously not what Hofmann intended it for.
Hofmann had hoped that the drug could be used in diagnosing and treating mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. Hofmann said the drug exaggerates what we think and what our minds see. He thought that by exaggerating what someone sees, especially someone with a mental illness, it would be easier to observe and treat what was wrong. Until the day he died Hofmann firmly believed that LSD could be used for the good and could potentially be the largest breakthrough in medicine ever found.
Today's world sees LSD simply as a hallucinogenic that should be kept illegal. Though quite a few organizations and medical researchers see it as having the potential Hofmann claims it to have. Research and time will uncover its hidden potentials or terrible consequences. Until then, its just another thing discovered too soon before its time.
Posted by: Christine McConville
posted by PWH @ 7:16 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Good post! I had just heard that Huffman died recently and wanted to know more about his discovery of LSD. It's interesting to think about how scientists "accidentally" discover drugs and then figure out how they can be used to benefit humanity.
Posted by:
Nicole Eckart
Interesting post. I didn't know that Huffman died. It is amazing how they are still experimenting with such a widely used recreational drug.
Posted By: Julie Hachey
I heard about this in the news and was very interested. LSD is a widely studied hallucinogen and its synthesis came about like many inventions, simply accidental. I was unaware that it was used to treat schizophrenia or alcoholism, and it seems like a drug that exaggerates and distorts reality would only compound the negative effects of these diseases. Great post!
-- Tom FitzGerald
I also did not know that Huffman died. It is interesting to see how the drug evolved. It's gone through many stages, from being accidentally discovered, to being a potential medicinal remedy, to being a street phenomenon that people use to get high. It's unfortunate that the drug did not work as Huffman wanted it to, and that now people use it without knowledge of Huffman and his research that he'd hoped would help humanity.
-Nate Pitcher
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