The news has carried this story quite a bit over the last few days so there’s not a lot I can add here to the basic facts.
Hofmann’s discovery had a big effect on me during my college years and opened my thinking up in many ways. LSD is definitely not for everyone. But I am not in agreement with the policies of most governments on this substance. I think in controlled circumstances it has a place in our pharmacology, in our psychological therapies and it our quests for personal enlightenment.
One of the best comments I saw on Hofmann’s passing this week was over on the Unknowngenius blog where the author said,
Albert Hofman, discoverer of the lysergic acid diethylamide compound (better known under its initials) and advocate of a mature, non-repressive approach to psychedelic drug experimentation, died this week at the age of 102.
Yet another tragic example of a young life cut short by the evils of drugs.
Some links on Albert (R.I.P.):
➡ – to the Albert Hofmann Foundation
➡ – Albert Hofmann on Wikipedia
➡ – Albert Hofmann via Erowid – a number of remembrances of the man in different newspapers may be found here.