Albert Hofmann, Inventor of LSD, Dies at 102 »
Posted By Neophile 1 year, 7 months ago in Science & TechnologyAlbert Hofmann, who died on Tuesday aged 102, synthesised lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in 1938 and became the first person in the world to experience a full-blown acid trip.
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aceofspades11 year, 7 months ago
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gamahuche1 year, 7 months ago
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Thanks for posting neo!
He comes across as a bit dry in this article though.
I saw him interviewed on the occasion of his 100th birthday and he had a wicked sense of humour and a bold lust for life and described his first "trip" with tremendous relish.
Its also significant that much of his later work consisted of following up on this "accidental" discovery.
He definitely continued to have contact with many of the researchers and others who were advocates for LSD.
For those who choose to focus only on the regrettable deaths associated with LSD ingestion may I suggest that they at least consider the scale of deaths from firearms as a comparison - even just the "accidental" deaths obviously dwarf all the deaths which can be attributed to LSD.
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Grrr1 year, 7 months ago
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Dang (sniff).
As Tim Leary said on his deathbed: "Why not? Yeah."
You know, I had forgotten, just noticed Hofmann's first intentional dose was taken April 19, 1943, at 4:20pm. I think THAT's where it came from (4:20).
gamahuche:
To the best of my knowledge, there are nil deaths attributed to LSD aside from accident or suicide occurring while under the influence. Okay, found two deaths in medical journals attributed to extremely high intravenous doses--measured in mg's to g's, industrial quantities compared to the usual 300-1000 microgram doses most people are familiar with.
The only deaths I had previously ever heard of actually attributed to the drug and not the mindset of the user were animal experiments, also with extrememly high doses...the elephant having a heart attack comes to mind...
Not to dismiss the suicides and accidents, but the drug itself is non-toxic and non-addictive.
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1-2-Oscar1 year, 7 months ago
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The book, "The Day of St Anthony's Fire" details hundreds od deaths caused by the ingestion of LSD over many centuries. The chemical occurs in Nature--it is a product of a particular strain of ergot which is found in rye and other small grains. Throughout the Middle Ages it was believed that its effects were the result of the Devil working directly among the population of afflicted communities. The last known outbreak occurred in France in 1951, and it led to the imposition of new standards for bakeries in that country.
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gamahuche1 year, 7 months ago
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"the drug itself is non-toxic and non-addictive"
I know that very well, Grrr.
That's why I used the formulation: "the regrettable deaths associated with LSD ingestion" - perhaps I should have made the second part of the sentence clearer also when I spoke of "attributed" but I figured I'd already prepared the ground.
However it is undeniable that a considerable number of people DID mistakenly believe that they could fly or that they were invulnerable to other dangers which in an unaltered state of consciousness they would not have done. I'm sure that someone at some point pobably got himself eaten by a lion because he wanted to stroke it..
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MarsDlugosz1 year, 7 months ago
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It is sad to lose such a pioneer. It is also regretable that the US is so tied up with fear and hatred. The next frontier, and possibly the salvation of mankind is free exlporation of what T. McKenna refers to as "hyper-space", It requires bravery beyond what is associated with being a solidier. Real courage to see what never been seen. To explore what's never been explored, that is, knowing the full potential of mind. Support MAPS.
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Mutainia1 year, 7 months ago
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It seems that some people can take LSD and have no problem with it. Others take it, and they end up thinking the CIA is up in the cramped attic spying on them. Those who are advocates of LSD will say, "It wasn't the LSD that made Sid Barret sit in his room watching tv all the rest of his life, it's just a coincidence that he'd become mentally ill after taking it." Others say you'll only go nuts from LSD IF you have a certain brain TO go nuts from it. Whatever the case, I've met enough "burned out hippies" who took it, and, even if it WASN'T the LSD that would get one shouting at a telephone pole on Berkeley's Dwight Ave, railing against "brain scanners", it was enough to keep ME from not going NEAR the stuff. IF I had terminal cancer, maybe I'd think differently. I mean, if your terminal, and, it makes you nuts, you wouldn't be a burden on your family for long, AND, they may not miss you as much when the cancer finally got you.
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