In 1938, a Swiss scientist made a miraculous discovery that has altogether revolutionized modern day culture and further scientific examination of the mind. In search of an analeptic compound (a circulatory stimulant), Albert Hofmann tested the extract of ergot of rye. Within the 25th extract, Hoffman first synthesized the semi-synthetic acid, which was classified as Lysergic acid diethylamide-25, (LSD-25). For 5 years, Hofmann reserved the psychedelic drug. When re-synthesized, he by chance consumed a sample, uncovering the pungent forces and effects. With over a hundred articles, Albert Hofmann has written several reports, as well as, LSD: My Problem Child, with essential excerpts such as:

I was forced to stop my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and to go home, as I was seized by a peculiar restlessness associated with a sensation of mild dizziness. On arriving home, I lay down and sank into a kind of drunkenness which was not unpleasant, and which was characterized by extreme activity of imagination. As I lay in a dazed condition with my eyes closed, I experienced daylight as specially bright. There surged up from me an uninterrupted stream of fantastic images of extraordinary plasticity and vividness and accompanied by an intense, kaleidoscopic-like play of colors. This condition gradually passed off after about three hours.

Hofmann furthered his studies as the director of the natural products department in Sandoz., which he examined the psychedelic indole, Psilocybin (Magic Mushrooms), becoming the first to recognize it's importance and chemical structure.

At the age of 29, Albert Hofmann transfigured the scientific study and has completely changed the interior of psychedelics. Ironically, at 9:00am CEST; April 29, 2008, Albert Hofmann died in Burg, Switzerland at the age of 102. Cause of death: a heart attack; two caretakers were there with him at the time. MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Study) President Rick Doblin said, "[Albert and I] spoke on the phone the day after the Basel conference and he was happy and fulfilled. He'd seen the renewal of LSD psychotherapy research with his own eyes, as had [his wife] Anita. I said that I looked forward to discussing the results of the study with him in about a year and a half and he laughed and said he'd try to help the research however he could, either from this side or "the other side".

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On a lighter note, in December 2007, Swiss medical authorities permitted a psychotherapist to perform psychotherapeutical experiments with patients who suffer from terminal stage cancer and other lethal illnesses. Though experiments have not yet to be implemented, they will represent the first study of the therapeutic effects of LSD on humans in 35 years, as other studies have focused on the drug's effects on consciousness and body. This study has the full espousal of Albert Hofmann, as he has continued to believe in the therapeutic benefits of LSD.


Overall Correspondence:
- Mind Over Matter