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LSD was discovered less than a hundred years ago, in 1938 to be precise, by Albert Hofmann. Hofmann, who was a chemist at the time, was working at a Swiss pharmaceutical firm. Its hallucinogenic effects were discovered years later though, in 1943, when the chemist accidentally consumed a small amount.
In the 60s, the drug was heralded in hippie counterculture, before being banned with the introduction of the Controlled Substances Act. Did you know that LSD was used by the Nazis as a truth serum, with the CIA also using it in experiments?
Following the drug’s discovery, the company Hofmann was working at, Sandoz, began looking into its potential as a new drug for mental health. Sandoz’s CEO at the time, Arthur Stoll, corresponded with Richard Kuhn about the discovery. Kuhn was the leading biochemist in Hitler’s camp at the time.
These developments were taking place as World War II raged on and with the Nazis growing even more paranoid about opponents in the regime, it was inevitable they’d resort to new techniques to extract truth. It is estimated that the Nazis operated over 1,000 concentration camps while they were in power, with many being used for medical experiments.
SS documents show that various tests were carried out using LSD to determine how to extract secrets from prisoners.
Following the liberation of some camps, Americans stumbled on similar documentation showing what the Nazis had been conducting research on. Soon after, the American military’s interest in LSD peaked, with the CIA taking over research on the psychedelic. Project MK-Ultra, led by the CIA, investigated the effects of LSD on human subjects, often without obtaining consent.
The agency’s objective had been mind-control and while that wasn’t successful, the agency did determine that the psychedelic could disrupt an individual’s thinking. This was in the 1950s, when America was paranoid that the Soviets were brainwashing individuals using drugs.
Using LSD, the U.S. military thought it could develop a pharmacological weapon. This wasn’t successful though, with the project being condemned for its use of individuals without their consent.
Now, the psychedelic is being used in medical treatment and research. Various studies have already found that when combined with therapy, the drug may be effective in treating a range of mental conditions, including anxiety, depression, and addiction.
Many hope that in the future, LSD along with other psychedelics will be approved as treatment options for a range of mental disorders. This comes as many psychedelic drug development companies like atai Life Sciences N.V. (NASDAQ: ATAI) have invested heavily in taking several of these compounds through the clinical drug development process so that regulatory agencies can approve their formulations.
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