April 29, 2008
Hoffman gone to the great Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds:
At 9 am this morning, Albert Hoffman, chemist and creator of LSD, died in his home in Switzerland.
Hoffman died at the grand old age of 102 and saw the psychedelic drug he called his "problem child" spark the interest of psychologists and psychiatrists, inspire a generation of 1960s flower children, and earn the ire of the authorities across the world who banned it as a prohibited drug.
What he didn't see (at least at the time) was that the CIA dedicated millions (billions?) of dollars in funding to investigate the chemical as a possible 'mind control' drug in a huge and often vastly unethical research project known as MKULTRA.
LSD had an impact on music, culture, politics, science and psychology and Hoffman remained committed to LSD research right until the end, supporting the first clinical trial of LSD for 30 years which started recently in Switzerland.
I suspect they'll be some extensive obituaries published when the press get wind of Hoffman's death which will hopefully do justice to his life and work, so we'll keep you posted.
Link to tribute on MAPS homepage (via BB).
