Footage from 1970 showing a young person in hospital for a bad acid trip

History of lysergic acid diethylamide

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. It was not until five years later on April 19, 1943, that the psychedelic properties were found. Discovery Albert Hofmann, born in Switzerland, joined the pharmaceutical-chemical department of Sandoz Laboratories, located in Basel, as a co-worker with professor Arthur Stoll, founder and director of the pharmaceutical department. He began studying the medicinal plant squill and the fungus ergot as part of a program to purify and synthesize active constituents for use as pharmaceuticals. His main contribution was to elucidate the chemical structure of the common nucleus of Scilla glycosides (an active principle of Mediterranean squill). While researching lysergic acid derivatives, Hofmann first synthesized LSD on November 16...