LSD: Encyclopedia II - LSD - Origin

LSD - Origin

"LSD" is an initialism formed from the German chemical name of the compound, Lysergsäure-diethylamid. It was first synthesized in 1938 by Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel as part of a large research program searching for medically useful ergot alkaloid derivatives. Its psychedelic properties were unknown until 5 years later, when Hofmann, acting on a hunch, returned to work on the chemical. He attributed the discovery of the compound's psychoactive effects to the accidental absorption of a tiny amount through his skin on April 16, which led to him testing a larger amount on himself for psychoactivity (full story).

Until 1966, LSD and psilocybin were provided by Sandoz Laboratories free of charge to interested scientists. The use of these compounds by psychiatrists to gain a better subjective understanding of the schizophrenic experience was an accepted practice. Many clinical trials were conducted on the potential use of LSD in psychedelic psychotherapy, generally with very positive results.

LSD first became popular recreationally among a small group of mental health professionals such as psychiatrists and psychologists during the 1950s, as well as by socially prominent and politically powerful individuals such as Henry and Clare Boothe Luce to whom the early LSD researchers were connected socially.

Cold War era intelligence services were keenly interested in the possibilities of using LSD for interrogation and mind control (see MK-ULTRA), and also for large-scale social engineering (see counterculture). The CIA conducted extensive research on LSD, which was mostly destroyed.[1]

Several mental health professionals involved in LSD research, most notably Harvard psychology professors Drs. Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (later known as Ram Dass), became convinced of LSD's potential as a tool for spiritual growth. Their research became more esoteric and controversial, alleging links between the LSD experience and the state of enlightenment sought after in many mystical traditions. They were dismissed from the traditional academic psychology community, and as such cut off from legal scientific acquisition of the drug. The experiments lost their scientific pretense, and the pair evolved into countercultural spiritual gurus, encouraging people to question authority, challenge the status quo and coining the phrase "Turn on, tune in, and drop out". Predictably, the drug was banned in the United States in 1967, with scientific therapeutic research as well as individual research also becoming prohibitively difficult. Many other countries, under pressure from the U.S., quickly followed suit.

In 1961, Dr. Timothy Leary recieved grant money from the Harvard University to study the effects of LSD on test subjects. 3,500 doses were given to over 400 people. Of those tested, 90% said they would like to repeat the experience, 83% said they had "learned something or had insight," and 62% said it had changed their life for the better.

Since 1967, underground recreational and therapeutic LSD use has continued in many countries, supported by a black market and popular demand for the drug. Legal, academic research experiments on the effects and mechanisms of LSD are also conducted on occasion, but rarely involve human subjects.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Origin", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki