Today in Medical history: Discovery of LSD🙏
The psychedelic drug (or entheogen)
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was first synthesized on November 16, 1938 by the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann in the Sandoz (now Novartis) laboratories in Basel, Switzerland.
significant discovery:
a psychoactive substance with extraordinary potency, capable of causing significant shifts of consciousness in incredibly low doses. Hofmann foresaw the drug as a powerful psychiatric tool; because of its intense and introspective nature, he couldn’t imagine anyone using it recreationally.
LSD was introduced as a commercial medication under the trade-name Delysid for various psychiatric uses in 1947.
LSD was brought to the attention of the United States in 1949 by Sandoz Laboratories because they believed LSD might have clinical applications
.LSD began to be used recreationally in certain (primarily medical) circles. Mainly academics and medical professionals, who became acquainted with LSD in their work, began using it themselves and sharing it with friends and associates.
LSD -in the 1980s accompanying the advent of recreational MDMA use, first in the punk and gothic subcultures through dance clubs, then in the 1990s through the acid house scene and rave subculture. LSD use and availability declined sharply following a raid of a large scale LSD lab in 2000
LSD was declared a “Schedule I” substance, legally designating that the drug has a “high potential for abuse” and is without any “currently accepted medical use in treatment.” LSD was removed from legal circulation. The United States Drug Enforcement Administration claimed:🙏🙏