LSD: The History of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide

LSD has a long and storied history with origins in a Swiss laboratory in the nineteen thirties. Lysergic Acid Diethylamide has been used extensively in therapeutic treatment of mental psychoses like schizophrenia and other dissociative identity disorders, in medical and scientific experimentation, in clandestine government operations and among recreational and spiritual drug users. In fact, in the 60's the drug was astonishingly widespread and was one of the most-used therapeutic and recreational drugs of the time. Today the drug has been banned by governments worldwide. Understanding the history of LSD is critical to help those who continue to abuse this substance today. While working for Sandoz Laboratories in 1938, Dr. Albert Hofmann was seeking to create a synthesized compound that could be used as a circulatory and respiratory stimulant. He used a number of different organic materials in his research, including the fungus ergot. But after a number of compounds derived from ergot proved fruitless, Hofmann put his research into it aside. Six years later he resumed his work and developed LSD-25, a derivative of ergot. While handling the substance Hofmann absorbed a small amount of it and rapidly entered an altered state of consciousness that has since been written about by countless scholars. After a number of experiments testing the substance on himself, the drug burst onto the market as an incredible new drug that could be used for a wide variety of purposes. According to Psychoactive.ORG: "LSD was introduced into the United States in 1948. Sandoz Laboratories (now Novartis) marketed LSD as a psychiatric cure-all and hailed it as a remedy for everything from schizophrenia to criminal behavior, sexual perversions and alcoholism. In psychiatry, the use of LSD by students was an accepted practice; it was viewed as a teaching tool in an attempt to enable the psychiatrist to subjectively understand schizophrenia. It was also showed great promise as a facilitating agent in psychedelic psychotherapy." While the promise and acceptance of this drug eventually faded, there were certain groups that used the drug for clandestine purposes. The Central Intelligence Agency ran a program lasting more than two decades known as MK-ULTRA that focused on the use of LSD to control participants. The drug was tested as a mind control substance, often involving unwitting psychiatric patients, prisoners, vagrants and prostitutes, covert operatives, government officials and many others. The research into mind control using LSD and other substances was reported to have been abandoned in the mid 70's, but many speculate that the work continued long afterward. During the 1960's LSD was one of the most popular recreational drugs – especially in the United States. The peace movement accepted drug use almost universally, and LSD was considered the king of illicit substances by many. Influential celebrities – primarily musicians and artists – helped to proliferate the use of LSD by writing songs about it, using the drug while performing, or even publicly acknowledging their acceptance of the drug. But with this kind of exposure and the negative side effects reported by many users, it wasn't long until legislation was passed that banned the substance. Today very few people are admitted to drug treatment centers because of a problem with LSD, but it does happen from time to time. LSD interferes with a person's ability to produce dopamine, and with repeated use this can destroy the user's ability to feel any pleasure at all. Fortunately, the drug is not widely available.

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