On this day in 1938 LSD is first synthesized by the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann from ergotamine at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel.
On this day in 1938 LSD is first synthesized by the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann from ergotamine at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel.
8 comments
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a psychedelic drug.
Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily visual, as well as auditory, hallucinations.
LSD was first synthesized by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann in 1938 from lysergic acid, a chemical derived from the hydrolysis of ergotamine, an alkaloid found in ergot, a fungus that infects primarily rye among other grains.
LSD was one of various lysergamides Hofmann synthesized from lysergic acid while working for Sandoz in Basel, Switzerland while trying to develop a new respiratory stimulant. Hofmann discovered its effects in humans in 1943, after somehow unintentionally ingesting the substance, possibly absorbing it through his skin.
LSD was subject to exceptional interest within the field of psychiatry in the 1950s and early 1960s, with Sandoz distributing LSD to researchers under the trademark name Delysid in an attempt to find a marketable use for it.
>Sandoz Laboratories introduced LSD as a psychiatric drug in 1947 and marketed LSD as a psychiatric panacea, hailing it “as a cure for everything from schizophrenia to criminal behavior, ‘sexual perversions,’ and alcoholism.”
Man, we already could cure everything 70 years ago…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysergic_acid_diethylamide
You’re leaving out the best part. Bicycle Day.
>On April 19, 1943, Hofmann ingested 0.25 milligrams (250 micrograms) of the substance. Less than one hour later, Hofmann experienced sudden and intense changes in perception. He asked his laboratory assistant to escort him home. As was customary in Basel, they made the journey by bicycle. On the way, Hofmann’s condition rapidly deteriorated as he struggled with feelings of anxiety, alternating in his beliefs that the next-door neighbor was a malevolent witch, that he was going insane, and that the LSD had poisoned him. When the house doctor arrived, however, he could detect no physical abnormalities, save for a pair of incredibly dilated pupils. Hofmann was reassured, and soon his terror began to give way to a sense of good fortune and enjoyment, as he later wrote…
>”… Little by little I could begin to enjoy the unprecedented colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind my closed eyes. Kaleidoscopic, fantastic images surged in on me, alternating, variegated, opening and then closing themselves in circles and spirals, exploding in colored fountains, rearranging and hybridizing themselves in constant flux …”
>The events of the first LSD trip, now known as “Bicycle Day”, after the bicycle ride home, proved to Hofmann that he had indeed made a significant discovery: a psychoactive substance with extraordinary potency, capable of causing significant shifts of consciousness in incredibly low doses. Hofmann foresaw the drug as a powerful psychiatric tool; because of its intense and introspective nature, he couldn’t imagine anyone using it recreationally.
I took it a few times in my life, loved it every time, felt much better about my life for a long time after the experience. Would recommend. Reset your mind and learn to be happy again.
Should be a European holiday.
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
And thats how you establish a new religion. And, for he first time in human history, actually a useful one…
Fantastic. I love microdosing it. Best medication