Today in Labor History November 16, 1938: LSD was first synthesized by Albert Hofmann at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel. The original intention of the lab was to create a new drug that stimulated the respiratory and circulatory system. It was not until April 19, 1943, that he would first sample the new drug, when he accidentally absorbed some, leading to his famous bike ride home. After an initial period of anxiety and terror, he began to settle in with the experience, which he described as such: “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.” April 19 is now celebrated as Bicycle Day.
In 1947, Sandoz began providing the drug to researchers under the trade name Delysid. Throughout the 1950s, researchers began using the drug to treat mental illness. Humphry Osmond gave LSD to alcoholics who had failed to recover through other methods. After 1 year, 50% were still sober, a success rate that was significantly higher than any other then known method of treatment. Early experimenters and proponents of the drug included the writer Aldous Huxley, the anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, and actor Cary Grant. The CIA gave it to many unwitting victims as part of their infamous MKULTRA program researching mind control. There were also willing MKULTRA volunteers, like Ken Kesey and Allen Ginsberg. And, for a short time, the working class had legal access to inexpensive trips.
