The Triangle

Issue date: 5/16/08 Section: Ed-Op

You must be wondering how Hofmann miraculously stumbled across this "smart" drug, which contributed to the 1960s hippie counterculture. Well, while working in the Sandoz Research Laboratory in Basel, Switzerland he accidentally ingested some while "isolating and synthesizing the unstable alkaloids of the ergot fungus," according to The Economist.

He initially felt lightheaded, but soon he was absorbed into the psychedelic world of acid, "dissolving into a kaleidoscope of colours, shapes, spirals and light."

Just imagine how it would feel to unintentionally take such a powerful drug - one minute you're sitting on your couch reading a book and the next the world explodes in your mind and what was once real is now unreachable to you.

After that epiphany, Hofmann took the drug over 100 times in the course of his life, but made it clear to the world that albeit his experiences were great, the drug has a more supreme purpose and value. Using acid, Hofmann "saw humanity's oneness with nature" and truly believed, as many people come to believe following such life-changing experiences, that mankind can benefit from seeing the world through a completely new lens.

The world is far from perfect, and maybe the drug does really bring people closer to nature and allows them to concentrate on mankind's "ultimately self-destructive degradation of the natural world" according to The New York Times.

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, author Aldous Huxley, Dr. Timothy Leary, and not to mention some of our favorite rock artists like The Beatles and Jimmi Hendrix, have experimented with LSD.

I can't help but feel that some people are going to read this and remind themselves, "Say no to drugs," which is perfectly fine. But, you should be aware of LSD's behemoth impact on the lives of many of the world's most accomplished people.



Mihir Oza is a sophomore majoring in political science and finance. He can be reached at mihir.oza@thetriangle.org.

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