lsd

LSD (lysergic Acid Dyethilamide)

A Swiss chemist named Dr. Albert Hoffman first produced lysergic acid Diethylmide –or best known as LSD in 1938 (Dye, 1992, p. 2). Hoffman discovered the drug while trying to synthesize a new drug for the treatment of headaches. He obtained the lysergic acid from the parasitic fungus that grows on rye plants known as ergot. From the lysergic acid, he synthesized the compound LSD. He used the compound to test for its pain killing properties on laboratory animals. Being that appeared totally ineffective, the bottle of LSD was placed on a shelf and remained untouched for five years.

On April 16, 1943, Dr. Hoffman decided to do further research with the LSD compound (Dye, 1992 p. 5). While handling the drug, he accidentally ingested an unknown amount. Then he experienced the world’s first LSD trip. About eight hours later Hoffman drifted back into normal reality and the Psychedelic Revolution was born. (Encarta 98) Three days later, in an attempt to prove that the previous episode was indeed caused by the ingestion of LSD, Dr. Hoffman ingested what he thought would be a small quantity of LSD, 250 micrograms. In actuality, this is approximately five times the dosage necessary to produce heavy hallucinations in the average adult male (Solomon, 1964, p. 34). The drug produced effects that were much more intense than the first time Hoffman took the LSD. He noted that he felt unrest, dizziness, visual disturbances, a tendency to laugh at inappropriate times, and a difficulty in concentration (Dye, 1992, p.7). Dr. Hoffman’s condition improved six hours after taking the drug, although visual disturbances and distortion continued.

LSD was first shipped to the United States in 1949 (Solomon, 1964 , p. 54). American scientists tested LSD on animals to learn of its effects. It produced dramatic behavior changes in all animals investigated.

During the 1950’s, experimentation of LSD on humans began (Solomon, 1964, p. 56). Since there were few restrictions on using humans for experimentation at the time, scientists were free to administer the drug widely, hoping to find some useful therapeutic value for the drug. Because of Hoffman’s LSD account of depersonalization produced by the drug. Early studies were done using the drug to treat various psychiatric disorders. It was felt that if a person could "step outside" themselves and...

... middle of paper ...

... other intoxicants, or while a person is in the presence of someone under the influence of LSD. Flashbacks have been known to cause psychotic and suicide reactions have been recorded as insanity.

LSD was not only restricted to big cities such as the streets of Haight and Ashbury of San Francisco. From Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters to the Beatles’ song ‘Lucy In The Shy With Diamonds’, LSD was gaining national recognition and had reached suburbia by the mid 1960’s. LSD inspires art, music, fashion, and culture for a generation. "Psychedelic", a word invented by scientist Dr. Humphrey Osmond to indicate the mind altering or mind expanding properties of hallucinogenic drugs, became a household term in the 1960’s. Aldous Huxley (b.1894-1963), writer of the critically acclaimed books Brave New World (1932) and The Doors of Perception (1954), was an advocate of the usage of hallucinogens. Huxley researched and experimented with mescaline and later related his studies on mescaline to LSD. In his usage of mescaline, Huxley experienced a change in every day reality. Unlike mescaline users before him, Huxley had no fantastic visions, saw no landscapes or geometrical figures.