LSDIn 1943, the hallucinogenic effect of the drug LSD, lysergic acid diethylamide, was first observed. Swiss chemist, Albert Hofmann had synthesized the drug five years earlier, but hopes of its use for treating respiratory problems were not fulfilled, and it was shelved. On this day, he accidentally absorbed some of the drug through his skin from touching its container. It affected his nervous system such that he became dizzy with hallucinations. It is related to a substance in ergot, a fungus that grows on rye and other grains. It is now known LSD acts to block the action of serotonin (the indole amine transmitter of nerve impulses) in brain tissue. By the early 1990's no safe clinical use had been found, though dangerous side effects are well known. |
