Thread by @PulpLibrarian

On 16 November 1938 chemist Albert Hofmann developed his 25th lysergic acid derivative, hoping for a drug to help blood circulation. But derivative 25 seemed to be both harmless and useless.

Five years later it blew his mind!

This is the story of LSD... #FridayThoughts

Ergotism, also known as St. Anthony's Dance, is a poison caused by the ergot fungus which grows on rye. It produces convulsive and gangrenous symptoms in its victims, which may have led to the Salem Witch Trial accusations. But in small doses it can be an effective medicine.

In the 1930s chemist Albert Hofmann began to synthesize the compound in ergot that caused these constrictions, and experimented with derivatives of its active compound lysergic acid. He was hoping to find a medicine to treat blood circulation problems.

In 1938 Hofmann developed derivative LSD-25, and tested it on a number of animals. It appeared to do nothing useful or harmful, except cause the recipients temporary agitation. The research was stopped, and Hofmann moved on.

Except something - some curiosity or hunch - made Hofmann synthesize another batch of LSD-25 in 1943. On 16 April, having accudentally touched some on his lip, he left the lab feeling strange. Cycling home he began to experience his first LSD trip...

Hofmann described the LSD experience as "a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness... I perceived an uninterrupted steam of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors."

Hofmann continued to experiment with LSD-25, both on himself and on animals. He concluded two things: The drug was unlikely to cause death, but its effects were unpredictable. It could cause terror or ecstasy, regardless of the dose or setting.

By 1947 LSD had been patented and marketed as Delysid, for use in analytical psychotherapy. By 1960 it was the talk of the psychiatric community; even Cary Grant used it in treatment. Hundreds of studies took place to see if it could have a therapeutic psychological effect.

The Harvard Psilocybin Project began in 1960, led by Dr. Timothy Leary and Dr. Richard Alpert. Using a mix of hallucinogenic drugs combined with psychotherapy, the project successfully reduced recidivism rates in a test group of prisoners.

However Leary and Alpert, along with writer Aldous Huxley and poet Allen Ginsberg began to believe hallucinogenics like LSD could also aid creativity. They began a campaign of introducing intellectuals and artists to psychedelics, lending the drug an academic air.

Harvard wasn't the only US institution interested in LSD however. In 1953 the CIA began Project MKUltra, a series of unethical and often illegal experiments in mind control, interrogation and brainwashing. LSD was being tested as a weapon.

In Operation Midnight Climax the CIA set up brothels in US cities, where visiting men were secretly dosed with LSD and then filmed. The men would be too ashamed to complain, and the CIA could observe whether LSD could be used to secretly target and discredit individuals.

The CIA also tested LSD on their own staff, as well as openly rectuiting volunteers to take it in studies. Some were given LSD consistently over 77 days. The long-term effects were hugely damaging and sometimes deadly.

One volunteer for the CIA's LSD programme was author Ken Kesey. He went on to hold Acid Test parties across San Francisco, before he and a group of friends called The Merry Pranksters took their painted school bus - named Further - across America evangelising for LSD.

The LSD moral panic soon set in however: tales of people becoming psychotic, or jumping off buildings believing they could fly, fed the newspapers. On 24 October 1968, possession of LSD was made illegal in the United States. By the 1970s its recreational use had plummeted.

LSD is still (mis)used today. Microdosing - small LSD amounts given over several days to improve concentration and creativity - is reportedly not uncommon amongst Silicon Valley workers. LSD is now part of the nootropic 'smart drugs' scene.

Research continues into whether LSD can be useful as a palliative for terminal illnesses. Aldous Huxley famously requested LSD in the final stages of cancer. If it can calm a mind that is facing death then perhaps Albert Hofmann's discovery could be of medical use after all.

Albert Hofmann passed away on 29 April 2008, aged 102. He remained convinced that LSD had the potential to counter the psychological problems induced by materialism, and his Hofmann foundation continues to study the field of human consciousness.

More stories another time...