The 80th birthday of LSD
Regulatory reform to decriminalise the use of psilocybin is taking place in a dozen states across the US, and is no longer confined to the West Coast – with lawmakers proposing bills in New York, Connecticut and Virginia.
On 19 April 1943, eighty years ago today, Albert Hofmann intentionally consumed LSD, marking the first recorded experience with the psychedelic medicine.
Hofmann synthesised LSD-25 in 1936 while researching stimulants and ergot’s impact on the cardiovascular system. It wasn’t until seven years later, however, that he became aware of its psychoactive properties – through accidental exposure.
When Hofmann purposely drank 250μg of LSD, diluted in water, he soon found himself intoxicated and asked his assistant to escort him home.
The hallucinations intensified on the bicycle ride from the laboratory, with the event later eternalised within the counterculture community as ‘bicycle day’.
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