Final Trip At 102 For Creator Of LSD |
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Albert Hofmann was 102 when he died of a heart attack at his home in Switzerland on Tuesday. The chemist discovered the mind-altering drug in 1938 while studying the medicinal uses of a fungus found on wheat and other grains. He accidentally gave himself a small dose during an experiment in 1943, felt a little weird and asked his assistant to give him a ride home on his bicycle. During the ride he experienced the first "trip" and 3 days later took a much larger dose which filled him with an overwhelming fear that he would "go crazy." For decades after it was banned in the late 1960s, Hofmann defended his invention saying he produced the drug "as a medicine" and it wasn't his fault if people abused it.  Hofmann called LSD "medicine for the soul" and was frustrated by the worldwide prohibition that has pushed it underground. "It was used very successfully for 10 years in psychoanalysis," he said, adding that the drug was hijacked by the youth movement of the 1960s and then unfairly demonized by the establishment that the movement opposed. He conceded that LSD can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Albert Hofmann, who called LSD his "problem child," discovered its hallucinatory properties while working on heart stimulants, reports the Washington Post. Personally, I've never been big on acid, but for many it's been just great. Cheers to Albert, we wish him a happy trip! |