Bicycle Day Research Paper

Yet, numerous Hippies associated themselves with drugs, such as; LSD and Marijuana, as these drugs were effortlessly assessable throughout that era. LSD effects the user and causes them to have hallucinations and effect the person’s mind space and perception of reality; triggering them to hear or see things that do not happen. “Drug experiences shaped many of their symbols and ideas.”(World Book Encyclopedia, 2004

In 1958, Albert Hoffman, the famous scientist to first isolate lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, took on the feat of isolating psilocybin, a compound found in mushrooms ingested in spiritual rituals in Oaxaca, Mexico. There are over 200 mushrooms with the compound called psilocybin, 4-phosphoryloxy- N,N –dimethyltryptamine, commonly known as “magic mushrooms”. In early history around the

A Swiss chemist named Dr. Albert Hoffman first produced lysergic acid Diethylmide –or best known as LSD in 1938 (Dye, 1992, p. 2). Hoffman discovered the drug while trying to synthesize a new drug for the treatment of headaches. He obtained the lysergic acid from the parasitic fungus that grows on rye plants known as ergot. From the lysergic acid, he synthesized the compound LSD. He used the compound to test for its pain killing properties on laboratory animals. Being that appeared totally ineffective, the bottle of LSD was placed on a shelf and remained untouched for five years.

     The modern world’s first glimpse into the world of psychedelics was through d-lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD. LSD was first synthesized in 1938 by two Swiss chemists from the alkaloid lysergic acid found in ergot, a parasitic fungus that grows on rye and other grains. Five years later, on April 19, 1943 Albert Hoffman, one of LSD’s co-discoverers

     Ecstasy, or 3, 4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, was first synthesized and patented in 1914, by the German drug company Merck. The original purpose of the drug was to be an appetite suppressant, however in 1970 it was given to clinical depressed patients to open them up and talk about their feelings. Then in 1986, Ecstasy was determined to cause brain damage (http://faculity.washington.edu/chudler/mdma.html).

During a visit to Mexico, Gordon Wasson, a mycologist, discovered the use of psilocybin mushroom in spiritual ceremonies by Indian tribes. Upon experiencing the spiritual and hallucinatory effects of the mushroom, Wasson returned to the area accompanied by an experienced mycologist, Roger Heim, who managed to cultivate the mushroom once in France and send samples of it to the scientist who had discovered lysergic acid, Albert Hoffman. From the mushrooms, Hoffman successfully isolated two compounds which he further named psilocybin and psilocin. Analogs of these compounds were further synthesized and were employed mainly for psychotherapeutic uses. Many tests on psilocybin were made at Harvard University in the early 1960’s. However,

The death of Dr. Olson came to the discovery of Project MKULTRA, “In 1953 Dr. Olson a civilian employee of the army at Fort Detrick, leaped to his death form a hotel room window in New York City about a week after having unwillingly consumed LSD administered to him as an experiment at a meeting of LSD researchers called by CIA” (PDF 4).

The author is a young man who obliviously is not self-effacing about his own usage and enjoyment of drugs. He used LSD, which in the fall of 2001 he realized that he had not seen the drug in ages and it was nowhere to be found; not for others or even for himself and statistics showed the decrease of the acid and its usage also. Dissatisfied with the situation He went to see his friend, Professor Peter Reuter who is a

LSD, which was the catalyst for psychedelic music, was discovered on April 16, 1943, by Albert Hofmann. For months he

beyond life as we know it, it shows us a drug that not only affects

There are many substances in this world that are used and abused in order to achieve pleasing psychoactive effects. Two substances of such nature that are abused in today’s society are alcohol and LSD. Alcohol is a liquid that is derived from the fermentation of grains and/or fruit (7). LSD is an ingestible form of lysergic acid which is derived from a fungus called ergot. Both of these drugs are drastically different with minimal similarities, primarily because alcohol is classified as a depressant and LSD is classified as a hallucinogen. Even though these drugs differ in many ways, they are commonly used in unison.

When something new comes and is publicized and talked about, human nature tends to make people experiment. That is exactly what people did with L.S.D. The mass of the population did it for fun with no real intent to harm them. Psychiatrists had a field day with the new drug. Psychotherapy was the major field in which L.S.D. played a factor. All through the Sixties and up into the early Seventies, doctors tried all angles to find a concrete use in the field of psychotherapy for L.S.D. In the Sixties the drug was even attempted as a weapon for chemical warfare. The effect of the drug was said to take all rationality out of its victim making them an easy target. L.S.D. prevailed in 1965 because it was said to do "good" things to people. First, it could easily bring out inner emotions and repressed memories

Since the 20th century, many medical professionals and researchers have been attempting to utilize psychedelic drugs in psychological illnesses treatments. In many testing cases, these psychedelic drugs were having hallucination effects on the patients. For examples, psychedelic drugs such as LSD and methoxamine are capable of changing a person’s moods, feelings, or even behaviors in either positive or negative ways. However, after decades of restriction on psychedelic drugs in 1960s, hallucinogens have been researched constantly in order to find a proper ways to utilize them in medicine. In other words, medical experts have been testing these drugs occasionally on patients, raising questions about medical ethics as a result. For instance, various patients reported to experience drug addiction, violent or suicidal thoughts, and physical syndromes such as coma, seizures, or loss of muscular coordination. Therefore, not only the testing of psychedelic drugs causes ethical debates, but the use of these drugs in general also questions whether they should be used in medicine at all.

It was known as “St. Anthony’s Fire” because of the burning sensation in the limbs and blackening of the skin. Monks, who ate white wheat bread and not rye bread, were treating the victims and shared their wheat bread with them, which helped the victims to heal because they were not eating infected bread (Bonnet & Basson, 2004, p. 213). Ergot has been used for medical purposes since the late 1500s but was not acknowledged academically until the 1800s. Midwives used it to prevent excess bleeding during childbirth. It was not used for long because it caused uterine spasms and dangers to the child. In the early 1900s, W. A. Jacobs and L.C. Craig of the Rockefeller Institute of New York developed lysergic acid by studying ergot. Swiss chemist, Albert Hoffman, experimented with the mold, ergot, and the alkaloids that made up lysergic acid, and was studying diethylamide but the new substance had no medical uses. From this, he subsequently created the drug LSD. (May, 1998)

It is no secret that drug use has the ability to completely alter a person’s state of consciousness, whether it be through extreme euphoria, increased hyperactivity, pain relief or psychedelic hallucinations. Although many drugs are used for medical purposes, the global issue of recreational drug use is now being fronted as an extremely serious matter that is steadily on the uprise. Recreational drug use is often associated with negativity, addiction and as having serious physical and mental repercussions. One of the few class of drugs that is often associated with both positive and negative connotations are hallucinogens, otherwise known as “psychedelics”, which have powerful altering effects on ones sense of perception, brain function