ON the afternoon of Jan. 11, Albert Hofmann, the chemist who discovered LSD, had about a dozen friends and family up to his glass-walled home in the mountains near Basel, Switzerland, for a party. It was his 102nd birthday and, in an important sense, also a homecoming. Dr. Hofmann, who died last week, spent the latter part of his life consulting with scientists around the world who wanted to bring his "problem child," as he called the drug, back into the lab to study as a therapeutic agent. Not long before his last birthday, he learned that health officials in his native Switzerland had approved what will be the first known medical trial of LSD anywhere in more than 35 years -- to test whether the drug can help relieve distress at end of life. [continues 1009 words]
Albert Hofmann, the Swiss scientist who invented the LSD and became the first person in the world to experience a full-blown acid trip, has died. He was 102. He was working as a chemist in Basel, when he synthesised lysergic acid diethylamide. On April 19, 1943, he took the substance before cycling home. That day has become known among aficionados as "Bicycle Day" as it was while he was riding home that he experienced the most intense symptoms brought on by the drug. [continues 172 words]
His Accidental Experience of 'An Extremely Stimulated Imagination' Caused by the Drug Led to a Lifetime of Experiments and Initiated the Psychedelic Generation. Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who discovered LSD and thereby gave the psychedelic generation the pharmaceutical vehicle to turn on, tune in and drop out, has died. He was 102. Hofmann died Tuesday morning at his home in Basel, Switzerland, of a heart attack, according to Rick Doblin, the head of MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Assn. for Psychedelic Studies. [continues 1448 words]
It's the psychedelic drug that inspired Hendrix and The Beatles - and shaped the music, art and literature of a generation. As the world bids farewell to the bicycling Swiss chemist who created LSD, John Walsh explores his mind-altering legacy It was known as acid, blotter acid, window pane, dots, tickets and mellow yellow. It was sold on the street in capsules and tablets but most often in liquid form, usually absorbed on to a piece of blotting paper divided into several squares: one drop, or "dot", per square. Lysergic acid diethylamide, or C20H25N30 to give it its snappy chemical formula, derived from lysergic acid, and it introduced you to a world of cosmic harmony and all-embracing love, or a black schizoid hell of paranoia and screaming demons. [continues 2912 words]
TOPEKA - Kansas is now one of nine states in the country that have criminalized the illicit use of salvia divinorum, a hallucinogenic herb. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has signed legislation banning the possession, use or sale of the drug, which has long been legal in the U.S. and used in shamanistic rituals in southern Mexico. About 20 other states are considering making the drug illegal as well. Landscapers often use the broad leaf for ground cover. Smoking or chewing a concentrated extract of the plant produces hallucinations, a perception of overlapping realities, dizziness and impaired speech, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. [continues 216 words]
PARIS -- Albert Hofmann, the mystical Swiss chemist who gave the world LSD, the most powerful psychotropic substance known, died Tuesday at his hilltop home near Basel, Switzerland. He was 102. The cause was a heart attack, said Rick Doblin, founder and president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a California-based group that in 2005 republished Dr. Hofmann's 1979 book "LSD: My Problem Child." Dr. Hofmann first synthesized the compound lysergic acid diethylamide in 1938 but did not discover its psychopharmacological effects until five years later, when he accidentally ingested the substance that became known to the 1960s counterculture as acid. [continues 989 words]
Albert Hofmann, 102, a Swiss chemist and accidental father of LSD who came to view the much-vilified and abused hallucinogen he discovered in 1938 as his "problem child," died April 29 at his home in Burg, a village near Basel, Switzerland, after a heart attack. His death was confirmed by Rick Doblin, the Boston-based founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a nonprofit pharmaceutical company developing LSD and other psychedelics for prescription medicines. Lysergic acid diethylamide, thousands of times stronger than mescaline, can give its user an experience often described as psychedelic -- a kaleidoscopic twirling of the mind pulsating with color and movement. [continues 1303 words]
Salvia, a relative of flowering sages, is considered by experts to be the most powerful natural hallucinogenic, almost as potent as LSD. A hallucinogenic herb called Salvia divinorum is growing in popularity among teens and young adults across the U.S. Local law enforcement officials said they're aware of the drug and plan to monitor its sale and use among teens, but they can do little to stop local smoke shops from selling the herb, which is legal in most states, including California. [continues 552 words]
Could Ecstasy, LSD and magic mushrooms one day be legitimate prescription medicines? It sounds unlikely, but doctors and researchers in the US and across Europe believe it is possible and that new science will prove the case. Second chances are rare in science. In the Fifties and Sixties, hallucinogenic drugs, such as LSD, were hailed as the magic bullet to everything from alcoholism to migraine. But they became caught in the crossfire of the cultural wars of the times. Western politicians banned the use of psychedelics in research once they started to be used recreationally, and became associated with flower-power and the counter culture. The drugs were dangerous; the science was flawed; the researchers biased. [continues 962 words]
You can smoke it like marijuana. It produces hallucinogenic effects like LSD. It's also likely available in a corner store near you. Salvia divinorum, also known as diviner's sage, maria pastora or Sage of the Seers, is a herb which is a member of the sage genus and mint family. It is being called the "new pot" in some circles and this has City of Kawartha Lakes Ward 12 Coun. Gord James concerned. Last year, James recommended a resolution received from the city of Port Colbourne about a petition to the Minister of Health to call Health Canada to undertake a review of salvia be received and referred to both the City of Kawartha Lakes Police Services Board and local OPP for comment. [continues 262 words]
Bill Makes Possession of Saliva a Felony TALLAHASSEE - On Web sites touting the mind-blowing powers of salvia divinorum, come-ons to buy the hallucinogenic herb are accompanied by warnings: "Time is running out! . . . stock up while you still can." That's because salvia is being targeted by legislators concerned that the inexpensive and easy-to-obtain plant could become the next marijuana. Eight states have already placed restrictions on salvia, and 16 others, including Florida, are considering a ban or have previously. [continues 699 words]
Also known as "Acid", this drug is the most potent and highly studied hallucinogen known to man. It belongs to the class of drugs which basically make you think you see and hear things that aren't really there. The drug itself, known as Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD for short) is a form of a fungus toxin that infects rye and other grasses. LSD was first extracted in 1938 by Dr. Albert Hoffman. At the time, he was researching for a circulatory stimulant, but instead accidentally ingested a dose of it, and discovered its hallucinogenic properties. One particular psychologist who was conducting experiments into the potential medicinal use of acid commented that it kept him unable to speak for five days and that he never recovered from the mind-shattering experience. The drug, identified as having no therapeutic use, was outlawed in the 1960's. The popularity of acid reached its peak during the 60's hippie movement but gradually declined through the next 30 years as the psycho-stimulant drug ecstasy replaced it in popularity among younger users. [continues 380 words]
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. - On Web sites touting the mind-blowing powers of Salvia divinorum, come-ons to buy the hallucinogenic herb are accompanied by warnings: "Time is running out!" and "stock up while you still can." That's because salvia is being targeted by lawmakers concerned that the inexpensive and easy-to-obtain plant could become the next marijuana. Eight states have already placed restrictions on salvia, and 16 others, including Florida, are considering a ban or have previously. North Carolina is not among them. "As soon as we make one drug illegal, kids start looking around for other drugs they can buy legally. [continues 305 words]
TALLAHASSEE -- Shamans in part of Mexico find value in Salvia divinorum, a hallucinogenic sage plant. So, apparently, do some young adults who post giddy, sometimes incoherent on-line videos of themselves smoking it. The Florida Senate? Not so much. On Tuesday, the plant that migrated from Oaxaca, Mexico, to the United States made what could prove a fateful trip -- to the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice. The committee endorsed a ban on the plant and its extract -- which researchers say are comparable in potency to LSD, arguably the best-known hallucinogen. [continues 375 words]
Perfectly legal to sell and use, salvia divinorum is a mystery to most adults but, according to legislators and others seeking to ban it, a danger youths know too well. At a public hearing Tuesday, Suffolk Legis. Lynne Nowick (R-St. James) played videos she'd found on the Internet of teenagers ostensibly stoned from salvia, a plant native to Mexico. She called the effects "dangerous" and called for the county to ban the plant. Representatives from the Smithtown Central School District, Suffolk Police and local anti-drug groups implored legislators to outlaw salvia because, they said, people believe it is safe because it is legal. [continues 437 words]
Research Unveils Link Between Hallucinogen And Psychotic Delusions It's A hallucinogenic drug that was once hailed as a promising psychiatric therapy before being banned amid concerns over recreational use - now scientists believe LSD could hold the key to new drug treatments for illnesses such as schizophrenia. A team of American researchers has discovered a biological link between LSD "acid trips" and psychotic delusions in the brain. Both states can cause hallucinations and feelings of disassociation from reality, and now scientists have uncovered what they share at a biochemical level. They say this could open the door to promising new drug treatments for psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, which is also known as manic depression. [continues 508 words]
"I would like to see some college set up a psychedelic center and after a great deal of careful preparation, make an expertly guided session available to the students willing to prepare for it," said former assistant professor of psychology Michael Kahn, advocating the academically-sanctioned use of LSD. These words were printed in an Oct. 1966 edition of the News, right in the middle of an era popularly considered synonymous with flower power, free love and psychedelia. Was Kahn's comment reflective of the mood of the times? [continues 740 words]
Salvia: State Senate Bill Would Put It on Controlled Substance List. It's been called the most potent naturally growing hallucinogen on the planet. And it's legal. Salvia divinorum, a species of sage, isn't banned under the federal Controlled Substances Act, but more than a half dozen states have made the drug illegal through state law. At least 12 more states, including Alaska, are debating whether to do so. Sen. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole, has been leading the charge here. Therriault said the drug's effects, which are similar to LSD's, are too powerful, dangerous and unpredictable to leave it unrestricted. [continues 933 words]
CORNING -- After making the biggest drug bust of its kind in county history Tuesday, Tehama Inter-agency Drug Enforcement agents displayed on Wednesday most of the 160 pounds of processed hallucinogenic mushrooms they seized from a Corning home. "This would make a pretty nice-sized salad," TIDE Commander Vic Lacey said. But all kidding aside, he said, the mushrooms seized are illegal and dangerous. They would have been worth at least $518,000 on the streets -- enough to sell one-eighth-ounce quantities at $25 to 20,754 customers. Lacey said he hasn't heard of a bigger mushroom bust in the north state in at least 20 years. * [continues 418 words]
