112 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
112 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
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LSD: THE FIRST 50 YEARS
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Since even TMA wasn't familiar with the Albert Hofmann Foundation,
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I must assume that its fame and its message of mind expansion haven't
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quite transcended the boundaries of LA yet. Not that I'm terribly
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surprised, mind you; after all, the AHF is a brand new outfit,
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inaugurated less than six months ago.
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The AHF is without exaggeration the single most valuable source of
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information on psychedelics in the world today. This non-profit
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foundation is entirely funded from private donations and is therefore
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independent of any religious, institutional or governmental
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surveillance. One of its primary functions is educational, to make its
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resources available to the public. I consider this a most valuable
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service, having faced the sorts of very rude censorship moves against
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most things psychedelic that I have come across in such venerable
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places as the UCLA biomed library, among others.
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One of the current goals of the AHF is to spread the word of its
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existence in order to reach those people whose lives might benefit from
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taking advantage of the services it offers. Lucky for you, as a
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volunteer AHF associate, I'm here to do some spreading of words. First,
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let's take a look at the man who started it all: Albert Hofmann: a
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short bio...
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Albert Hofmann (1906- ), now retired as Director of Research for
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Sandoz Laboratories, Ltd., a Swiss pharmaceuticals company, is best
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known for his study of ergot, a substance derived from a rye fungus.
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From it, he produced, quite accidentally, lysergic acid diethylamide-
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25, LSD for short. Tested on mice in 1938, the substance failed to
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arouse interest among pharmacologists and physicians, so it was
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shelved. On April 16, 1943, however, Hofmann repeated the synthesis
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of LSD-25, but was forced to suspend his work and proceed home because
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of the onset of "a not unpleasant intoxicated condition, characterized
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by an extremely stimulated imagination." Thus Hofmann embarked on the
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first recorded acid trip in history. Three days later he decided
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to systematically study the unexpected mental effects; he started
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by ingesting O.25 milligrams of the substance, an enormous dose in
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LSD terms. Feeling much disoriented he pedaled home once again,
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experiencing one of the most memorable bicycle rides in history.
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Hofmann subsequently participated in LSD sessions with some of the most
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distinguished European writers and philsophers.
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Hofmann's genius in organic chemistry was reconfirmed in 1958 when
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he synthesized psilocybin, the active ingredient in Mexico's magic
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mushroom. This was the drug used in the first two years of the Harvard
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Psychedelic Research Project, directed jointly by Timothy Leary, Ph.D.,
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Ralph Metzner, Ph.D. and Richard Alpert, Ph.D. (aka RamDass). Hofmann
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believed in supplying psychedelic substances to qualified researchers
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for further study and the Harvard Project symbolized the first
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concerted effort by a group of American psychologists to use a
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psychedelic substance as a tool in the study of the human mind.
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The inevitable clash with the scientific mainstream-establishment
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at ultra-conservative Harvard and the subsequent dismissal of all
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faculty and graduate students associated with the project not only
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illustrated the silly power politics that govern academia, but the
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tenets of American psychology in the 60s, which simply discounted as
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irrelevant the human mind as a determinant of free will and behavior.
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Largely as a consequence of the highly politicized and paranoid
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reactions of government and lawmakers, psychedelic substances
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have been barred from legal scientific study in most parts of the
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world.
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The AHF was created in 1988, on the occasion of celebrating 50
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years of consciousness research, research often carried out privately
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and insecrecy. One of the functions of the AHF is to bring to light
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a substantial amount of this "underground material" and to make
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available to the public all information, documents, research reports,
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art etc. that chronicle the pioneering efforts in psychedelic
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mind/brain exploration.
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The board of advisers and supporters of the AHF bring together
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some of the most prominent names and personalities from this pioneering
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psychedelic era, e.g. Oscar Janiger, Allen Ginsberg, Laura Huxley,
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John Lilly, Alexander Shulgin, Stanilav Grof and many others. However,
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one name is conspicuously absent from this list of 60s celebs, that of
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Timothy Leary, ex(?)-LSD guru and current philosopher-at-large.
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This is not an oversight, nor does it mean Leary isn't a potent
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player behind the scenes. There are pragmatic reasons to consider,
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however, and the AHF's aim of being a completely legit, squeaky clean
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organization for purely educational purposes, is-officially at least-
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not quite compatible with Leary's record and past lifestyles. "If I
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were trying to curry favor with the Establishment", Leary said, "I
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wouldn't ask me to join, either." It's but a sign of the times, that
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Leary's seven years spent in various state and federal penitentiaries
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poignantly appeared to herald future government drug policy.
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In this War-on-Drugs decade of the 1980s, a reactionary period of
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blanket prohibition, censorship and paranoid ignorance of all things
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psychedelic, the Albert Hofmann Foundation-and all the people who make
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it possible-transmit a strong, powerful message long overdue: the fact
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that the scientific achievement of psychedelic mind exploration is here
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to stay; as a matter of fact, the best is yet to come.
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While the man may not be 'establishment' enough to officially
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represent the AHF, Timothy Leary nonetheless aptly summarized
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the foundation's message of optimistic encouragement and a future
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mission at outdoor dedication ceremonies for the AHF held in July, 1988
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in the Hollywood Hills: "Everything's gonna be alright, the *fun* has
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just begun!" For more information and/or to get on the mailing list,
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contact:
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THE ALBERT HOFMANN FOUNDATION
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132 West Channel Road, Suite 324
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Santa Monica, CA 90402
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(213)281-8110 (message recording)
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Also, feel free to bug me about any questions, concerns, issues
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you have regarding the AHF or psychedelics in general.
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[Don't forget to JUST SAY *KNOW*!]
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