Tag Archive for 'Albert Hofmann'

A RowTow Tribute to Dr. Albert Hofmann

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cy
8 months, 1 week ago
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Dr. Albert HofmannI just wanted to take a minute to rave about Dr. Hofmann, LSD, and all that they have both done for us. Since there is an overwhelmingly exhaustive amount of information available on the internet about Dr. Hofmann, I simply want to point out some of the things we’d be missing out on if it weren’t for him. The quick gist is that he is responsible for the synthesis of one of the most remarkable psychoactive substances known to man; LSD-25. You can read all about Albert Hofmann and the History of LSD on Wikipedia. This is an excellent resource for all things Hofmann.

Let’s have a quick look at a few of the things we’d likely be missing in our lives without Dr. Hofmann and LSD. How about The Beatles? Every member of The Beatles experimented with LSD. I highly doubt we would have ended up with all of the lovely music from The Beatles without Dr. Hofmann’s discovery. The Rolling Stones? The Doors. All influenced by LSD.

Bill Gates of Microsoft admitted to dropping acid in an interview with Playboy in the December 8th, 1984 issue. Here’s the excerpt:

“PLAYBOY: Ever take LSD?
GATES: My errant youth ended a long time ago.
PLAYBOY: What does that mean?
GATES: That means there were things I did under the age of 25 that I ended up not doing subsequently.
PLAYBOY: One LSD story involved you staring at a table and thinking the corner was going to plunge into your eye.
GATES: [Smiles]
PLAYBOY: Ah, a glimmer of recognition.
GATES: That was on the other side of that boundary. The young mind can deal with certain kinds of gooping around that I don’t think at this age I could. I don’t think you’re as capable of handling lack of sleep or whatever challenges you throw at your body as you get older. However, I never missed a day of work.”

Ken Kesey, author of “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest,” which was turned into a movie that ended up being one of Jack Nicholson’s best known flicks. Nicholson also wrote the 1967 movie “The Trip” aka “A Lovely Sort of Death.”

Artists Salvador Dali and Alex Grey, both influenced by LSD. Everyone knows the melting clocks painting, it’s a bad ass painting. Alex Grey has done album work for Nirvana, The Beastie Boys, and Tool to mention a few.

Steve Jobs of Apple Computer is quoted “taking LSD was one of the two or three most important things he had done in his life.” That’s right, all you fools on your nice ass Macbook Pros listening to your fancy iPods stuffed with stolen music would be listening to your Sony Discman and your PC laptop battery would be about to die. Okay, doubtful we’d be that far behind. It’d be pretty extraordinary if we still had iPods and Macbooks without one of Jobs’ two or three most important things he’s done in his life though.

Woodstock probably would have sucked.

William S. Burroughs, Hunter S. Thompson. Come on, no Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? Weak. Which brings us to Johnny Depp, pretty sure he’s tripped some balls.

Freaking Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix. Are you experienced? I don’t think any of us would be quite as experienced as we are now.

The list of famous actors, writers, artists, entrepreneurs and musicians that have used LSD goes on and on. And I bet there isn’t a single one of them that would take those experiences back. I just don’t see how any of this could be exactly the same as it is today without him.

Stop by maps.org and support what they are doing with LSD and Psilocybin research. I think there is a lot of potential in the vast unexplored world of these chemicals.

Erowid.org has been so kind to provide a worthy home for all of Dr. Hofmann’s original references available here. Check out the photos.

What’s the 25 in LSD-25? Direct quote from Hofmann in his book entitled “LSD, My Problem Child” - “In 1938, I produced the twenty fifth substance in a series of lysergic acid derivatives: lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD-25 … for laboratory usage.” On April 19th, 1943 he decided to revisit his research on a hunch and busted out a 250 microgram dosage orally and successfully rocked the first LSD trip in history. Also known as “Bicycle Day.”

Without Dr. Hofmann, music would suck, computers would suck, books would suck, and religion would suck worse than it does already.

The next time you score a vial of LSD, pour some out for our homie Dr. Hofmann (lol bascule). Hofmann, you were the shit, son.

Telegraph.co.uk Obituary. 102nd Birthday RowTow post.

Dr. Albert Hofmann

“The Father of LSD”

Born: January 11th, 1906. Died: April 29th, 2008.

Happy belated Birthday, Albert Hofmann

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cy
11 months, 3 weeks ago
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Albert Hofmann

Albert Hofmann turned 102 years old one week ago today. From The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (maps.org) - “Albert Hofmann–the Swiss chemist who discovered LSD and psilocybin–turned 102 on January 11th. There to celebrate his birthday with him were Rick Doblin, Peter Gasser, Vanja Palmers, Dieter Hagenbach, and others. The gathering was particularly poignant, and there was sadness due to Anita’s recent death at the age of 94 on December 20, 2007. However, Albert was glad that he has lived to see the day when LSD medical research has finally been renewed.

Albert and Anita were together for almost 75 years. On that historic day in 1943, when Albert bicycled home from his Sandoz lab in Basel after ingesting 250 micrograms of LSD, it was Anita who cared for him and was by his side. Many people in the psychedelic community like to attribute Albert’s long life to his LSD experiences. However, Rick Doblin suspects, “It’s probably more likely due to his lifelong love affair with Anita and to good genes.” Anita herself had one unpleasant experience with LSD and didn’t repeat it.

As Rick reported, “To be able to celebrate the renewal of LSD psychotherapy research for the first time in more than 35 years with Albert on his 102nd birthday was an exceptionally meaningful moment in my life. I felt that all the work of MAPS for the last 21 years culminated in that moment, and that the fewer than five thousand total MAPS’ members over the years, who had made the moment possible, were paying their respects to Albert on behalf of the millions of people who have benefited from LSD.

Albert Hofmann’s birthday synchronistically falls on the same day–January 11th–that the late writer, prankster-philosopher, and psychedelic explorer Robert Anton Wilson died. Wilson was another big influence for many us in the psychedelic community, and he passed away a year ago. Thank the stars that he left behind so much of himself–thirty-six books–for us to learn from and enjoy for many years to come.”

On a side note, Laura Huxley also passed away in December of 2007. Also from maps.org - “Writer and psychedelic investigator Laura Huxley died of cancer at the age of 96 on December 13th. She is best known for her memoir, This Timeless Moment, about Aldous’s final struggles with cancer, and how she assisted him during his dying process by administering LSD at his request. In addition to authoring five books, Laura was also a concert violinist, a filmmaker, a psychotherapist, and the founder of a charity—Children: Our Ultimate Investment. Laura lectured on the human potential movement, and was, in her words, “a restrained investigator of LSD.” When I interviewed Laura, and asked her what kind of advice she would give to young people, she replied, “I would tell them: Respect your body. Focus your mind. Love your heart. Support and cooperate with anyone who wants to do the same.” Laura ‘s work was a big inspiration to many of us in the psychedelic community and we will miss her wise, noble, and graceful spirit. We wish her a peaceful journey.”