<<Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who discovered the mind-altering drug LSD seventy years ago, has died at his home at the age of 102....
The Swiss chemist discovered lysergic acid diethylamide-25 in 1938 while studying the medicinal uses of a fungus found on wheat and other grains at the Sandoz pharmaceuticals firm in Basel.
He became the first human guinea pig of the drug when a tiny amount of the substance seeped onto his finger during a repeat of the laboratory experiment on April 16, 1943.
“I had to leave work for home because I was suddenly hit by a sudden feeling of unease and mild dizziness,” he subsequently wrote in a memo to company bosses.
As he cycled home the strange feelings intensified, he wrote. “Everything I saw was distorted as in a warped mirror. I had the impression I was rooted to the spot. But my assistant told me we were actually going very fast.”
Upon reaching home, Hofmann sat down on a divan and began experiencing what he called “wonderful visions”....>>
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3845509.ece