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LSD was first synthesised by the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann in the Sandoz laboratories in 1938. The laboratory had undertaken a research program aimed at isolating the active constituents of medicinal plants so that they could be produced in the laboratory and later precisely dosed for accurate administration to patients. Dr Hofmann eventually began researching the ergot fungus and alkaloids which could be derived from it. Ergot was traditionally used by midwives as an ecbolic, a medication used to induce childbirth, and early 20th century research indicated that the various compounds in ergot had other effects on the body as well, prompting further research. After Dr Hofmann succeeded in synthesizing ergobasine (which became the preeminent uterotonic), he began experiments with other molecules based around the central lysergic acid component shared by ergot alkalines. Lysergic acid diethylamide, the 25th synthesized molecule (hence the name LSD-25) was developed initially as a probable analeptic, a circulatory and respiratory stimulant, based on its structural similarity to another known analeptic, Coramine (nicotinic acid diethylamide). However, no extraordinary benefits of the compound were identified during animal tests (though laboratory notes briefly mention that the animals became 'restless' under its effects), and its study was discontinued.
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Dr Hofmann wrote in his diary that on 16 April 1943: I was forced to interrupt my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and proceed home, being affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant intoxicated-like condition, characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination. In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors. After some two hours this condition faded away. Three days later, on 19 April 1943 (now known as Bicycle Day), Dr Hofmann intentionally ingested 250g of LSD, which he hypothesized would be a threshold dose, based on other ergot alkaloids. In reality the threshold is 25g. Hoffman wrote: By now it was already clear to me that LSD had been the cause of the remarkable experience of the previous Friday, for the altered perceptions were of the same type as before, only much more intense. I had to struggle to speak intelligibly. I asked my laboratory assistant, who was informed of the self-experiment, to escort me home. We went by bicycle, no automobile being available because of wartime restrictions on their use. On the way home, my condition began to assume threatening forms. Everything in my field of vision wavered and was distorted as if seen in a curved mirror. I also had the sensation of being unable to move from the spot. Nevertheless, my assistant later told me we had traveled very rapidly. Dr Hofmann summoned a doctor, who could find no abnormal physical symptoms other than extremely dilated pupils. After spending several hours terrified that his body had been possessed by a demon, that his next door neighbor was a witch, and that his furniture was threatening him, Dr Hofmann feared he had become completely insane. 'The doctor saw no reason to prescribe any medication. Instead he conveyed me to my bed and stood watch over me. Slowly I came back from a weird, unfamiliar world to reassuring everyday reality. The horror softened and gave way to a feeling of good fortune and gratitude, the more normal perceptions and thoughts returned, and I became more confident that the danger of insanity was conclusively past. Now, little by little I could begin to enjoy the unprecedented colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind my closed eyes. Kaleidoscopic, fantastic images surged in on me, alternating, variegated, opening and then closing themselves in circles and spirals, exploding in colored fountains, rearranging and hybridizing themselves in constant flux. It was particularly remarkable how every acoustic perception, such as the sound of a door handle or a passing automobile, became transformed into optical perceptions. Every sound generated a vividly changing image, with its own consistent form and color ... Exhausted, I then slept, to awake next morning refreshed, with a clear head, though still somewhat tired physically. A sensation of well-being and renewed life flowed through me. Breakfast tasted delicious and gave me extraordinary pleasure. When I later walked out into the garden, in which the sun shone now after a spring rain, everything glistened and sparkled in a fresh light. The world was as if newly created. All my senses vibrated in a condition of highest sensitivity, which persisted for the entire day.'
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