LSD Creator Albert Hofmann To Steve Jobs: “How Was LSD Useful To You?”

@CommentingpointlesslyisMeh: Thanks to the power of LSD you too can see that she is not wiped off the face of the earth but shifting her atoms into a now structure within the confines of our Sphere which connects all of us. So fuck you.

CalebJuicy

@secretmanofagent: "If I died/went to jail/did drugs, my family would be hurt." what'd you do, copy that out of a DARE pamphlet?
drug use != drug ABuse. that's what the AB is for, like normal vs abnormal. many millions of people use drugs responsibly, you just never hear about them... because they aren't getting noticed, because they function perfectly.
you've got that overblown 'drug users are all crack heads' mentality that seems to grab hold of a lot of people who've never used. MIND BLOWING SURPRISE: most drugs aren't as powerful as alcohol. so if you can drink a couple of beers a day and still be good to your family, why should using weaker drugs be any different?

@Valnen: This is a disgusting sentiment which I hope you are not serious about. LSD and other psychoactives have very promising capabilities as therapeutic aids in treatment for things such as PTSD and other disorders. This is coming from a number of respected scientists and doctors. If they could actually get funding from the biased FDA, they would have larger scale results to demonstrate this. Not to mention the benefits of escaping your typical perspective on the world. LSD does a lot more than let you see weird colorful shapes, it allows for insights which are very applicable to normal life once you have come down, as long as you approach the trip with the right attitude.

The5thElephant

There are drugs where it's understandable to put strong negative connotations with, but LSD just isn't one of them. It isn't like meth where it can potentially destroy your life so easily. It brings your life to a new perspective in a manner that only a user could describe. Don't criticize it especially if you lack the knowledge to do so. Drugs aren't always illegal because they are 'bad'. It's a foolish decision to think so.

jookie

@World iS Mi iPhone!!: purple unicorns!

Amethysaurus

@Valnen: "I was banned on Kotaku because I pissed people off, not because of what I said."
O_O
It was what you said that pissed people off.
Please keep your extremist views to yourself. This site in not an appropriate venue to express them.

KesMonkey

@Valnen:
To people who say stuff like this I suggest that you try being the executioner for each and every one of the people you refer to. It's pretty hard to put a gun in their face and pull the trigger for 10 million people and feel great about it every time. Try putting some humanity behind your generalizations and you might see a different point of view. The same could be said about people who have ever exceeded the speed limit, but obviously that would doom everyone.

fuzz54

Reality is a crutch for the people that can't handle drugs!

-forgot where I read that, but its awesome

LSD is awesome, too. I love watching the mk-ultra shows on the history channel.

relawson

@medrick: Other than coming off as hypocritical (killing off any one particular group is foolish as an argument, let alone a counter-argument), not much was done.

Medicinal marijuana is a great straw man; it ignores everything that causes major problems like heroin, meth, cocaine, and crack cocaine.

An isolationist belief that your actions have no impact on others is foolish as well. If I died/went to jail/did drugs, my family would be hurt.

To note, I've never used any drugs. I just think that both sides are a bit foolish.

secretmanofagent

@Americun MORAN©: +1!! Bill Hicks!! R.I.P. Very talented comedian!!

World iS Mi iPhone!!

@Joshua L Lewis: most standard UA does not test for psilocybe or LSD.

@Conrad: Dude, where are you getting your information? LSD most certainly is a hallucinogen. Definition: a sensory experience of something that does not exist outside the mind, caused by various physical and mental disorders, or by reaction to certain toxic substances, and usually manifested as visual or auditory images. And is fantasticant even a word? When my hand turned into a spider and crawled up my arm, it was most certainly a hallucination.

ThickSkinned

@Valnen: wow...would you like to borrow my spoon?

jackbling

@Barion: according the the 100% fact internets...

[www.miqel.com]

@Conrad: Conrad, speaking as someone who has tripped for 4 days straight, you most certainly can take acid two days in a row. It will take more to get you off, but it can be done.

ThickSkinned

@Matt Heimlich: What exactly are the 'wonky' side effects of which you speak? I've eaten well over 200 hits and the only side effect I've noticed is the ability to look at the world in a completely new way, seeing through the bullshit. I think Bill Hicks described it as squeegeeing off your third eye.

ThickSkinned

@[www.huffingtonpost.com] is a pretty good post on the recent scarcity of acid.

ThickSkinned

@Conrad: I think you're confusing an old episode of G.I. Joe with reality. The idea for Serpentor came to Dr. Mindbender in a dream that looked a whole lot like an acid trip.

@GraphicoFantastico:

so... you're 29 now?

i keeed.

@medrick:

"I just think that people should be free to do what ever they feel like doing as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else."

I hope you will back that up by registering as a Libertarian, friend. The more the merrier.

@Dahamma: +1. Don't explain it to anyone.

@Valnen: My mom had Lymes disease before she died a few years ago. Pot used to be the only thing that removed her body pain. She was one of the most kind and generous people I have ever met, even in all of her pain. Now she IS wiped off the face of the Earth. So let me just say

...FUCK YOU ASSHOLE.

Get a clue.

@Conrad: Thats a loaded statement - yeas, one wont OD on LSD, but they can have psychotic episodes as a result.

I eventually had to quit pot though, because, while I was not getting "flashbacks", there was a new, more paranoid feeling that accompanied the high.

when i was younger, i tried a wide variety of drugs. drugs you've never even heard of.

LSD is by far the best one. by FAR.

@MichaelBrazell: Exact, LSD invented Abbie Hoffman.

NicleT

@madara: Look for someone wearing alot of day-glo bracelets and carrying glow-sticks. Or a hippie looking dude, if any still exist. Cop

@cgraham: Not really, I left out all that shit about 'chasing the tail of the dogma' and the 'prying open my third eye' crap

Let's say someone wanted to try said drug as an experiment. Where would one begin to look in the NW Chicago area? I'm sure it's not the type of thing you can buy on any street corner.

@Valnen: I see your opinion and raise one of my own.

I think that close-minded idiots should be wiped off the face of the earth.

See what I did there?

And no I've never done drugs either, I just think that people should be free to do what ever they feel like doing as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. (You can hurt yourself all you want, it's your life.)

medrick

@Frank Mahnke: All I said was that illegal drugs can improve quality of life, giving marijuana as an example. I wasn't saying I smoke it for medical reasons. I mainly smoke it to get high. But in my opinion, that's a quality of life improvement also, as long as you do it in moderation.

@Matt Heimlich: Well like most drug folklore this is probably untrue too but it is my understanding that acid only shows up on a spinal tap which is illegal in the US. At least it was illegal, probably is commonplace now.

Shrooms however do show up in your urine/hair/blood.

Joshua L Lewis

@SetDipSwitchesTo_GitEmSteveDave: HAHAHA

@dark42: The oft-quoted "Ecstasy eats holes in your brain" study was conducted using methamphetamine, but society thanks you for eating your misinformation with a spoon.

@tehdahl: GAHHH Catch-22!

@Underscore_Lysdexia:well said!! People think because it's prescribed it's ok and NOT a drug, until they are addicted! SAME thing, different checmical...actually worse, I don't know anyone who took lsd everyday, like most prescription meds!

World iS Mi iPhone!!

@Valnen:Some of the most influential people of all time took lsd you moron, typical close minded-mindless crap banter from someone who has no clue....leme guess, yo are a good christian too right? Most are hypocrites. Get a life before I slip you some paper

World iS Mi iPhone!!

@Underscore_Lysdexia: It is only a valid argument when it is coming from one who actually uses it fro medicinal purposes. That argument coming from someone who just does it to get high is not valid.

I'm not arguing that pot or LSD is bad. My only point is that anyone who does not use it for medicinal purposes should not use that fact in an argument. The Same goes for amphetamines. Anyone who abuses those or uses them for non-medicinal purposes shouldn't argue that it's legal...

@postretro: How am I misinformed? I said that most people who use that argument shouldn't because they personally don't use it for that reason. I did not say everyone. Anyone who uses it for medicinal reasons can and should use the "medicine" fact in a debate. However, those who use it to get high shouldn't. Reading comprehension FTW?

@Anyone else who wants to argue with me: Please read what I said before responding. -_-

Frank Mahnke

@Valnen: This world? You can keep it. She's all yours.

@Frank Mahnke: You are so misinformed my friend. My mother is dying and cannot hold down food unless she smokes a joint first. Also, she rrreally doesn't give a shit how you feel about that.

@Frank Mahnke: it's because it can be used for medicinal purposes, I don't believe people say it's MOSTLY used for medicine, but it still is for some people, so it's a valid arguement...

What about Vicodin, or any other legal amphetamines? They get you high, but they're mostly used for medicine, how does that fit in your arguement?

Underscore_Lysdexia

@Valnen: Do you drink coffee? Beer?

Do you take aspirin?

Congratulations! Your wish has come true, now prepare to be wiped out

Underscore_Lysdexia

@kaikai34: Actually, pot isn't legal in Amsterdam either. It's just put up with, because the police would rather have people do it in safe, controlled environments, but it's still illegal to possess pot in Amsterdam.

@yeti said.

I've never heard of Watson or Crick using LSD (just 'borrowing' other's research)

poorGeek

@Valnen: So if they ever legalize a drug that's currently illegal that'll make it a-ok for you?

@newgalactic: It can also kill somebody you think is a hot dog:

@Valnen: So you think Obama should be wiped off the face of the Earth? Ouch.

@kaikai34: Nobody is safe in LA. Regardless of what they do/don't do.

Frank Mahnke

@zsakul2: Contain yourself, please

The clowns eat hysterical people

Underscore_Lysdexia

@Valnen:
so a pot smoker in Amsterdam is safe but not his buddy in LA?

kaikai34

@Americun MORAN©: it may be Bill Hicks, but you're just quoting the Tool song. +1 for Tool though.

cgraham

@zjgz: what you need to remember, is that you know what is happening. You know you are high and you know that what you are seeing isn't real. I took tons of the stuff a long time ago (not all at once) and really just stopped because I grew up and didn't have the 8+ hours to give up. When you do it, be in a good place with good people, realize that it takes about an hour to kick in, and realize that it is a long ride.

cgraham

Drugs help sweep the cobwebs out of my brainpan. Very potent when combined with a little zen.

stryder100

@Americun MORAN©: Stop it you're making my apple jump.

Jake712

@World iS Mi iPhone!!: It was purple microdot around here.

Jake712

@Conrad: Judging by all your reponses in this thread, you are Acid's #1 Fan.

Acid was a positive experience for me.. and while i really feel that it helped open my mind to a degree.. i really dont think i could ever do it again. Who knows..?

Papatronic

@craig_16: Before I get to the actual reason for me typing this response, let me first say that I do not agree with Valnen.

Now then, I'm just wondering. Why is it that most people who support illegal drugs ALWAYS bring up medicinal marijuana? I find it an invalid argument from most of those people, because the vast majority aren't using it for medicinal purposes. Anyone who claims that most marijuana usage is medicinal is either stupid or ignorant.

However, I agree with everything else you said.

Frank Mahnke

@Valnen: So by your reasoning, Illegal = Bad, Legal = Good, regardless of any other factors. Well, at least by following that concept you don't have to waste any energy THINKING FOR YOURSELF. Legal medicine can be misused - look at Heath Ledger. Illegal drugs can improve people's quality of life - just google medical marijuana. You shouldn't form such extreme opinions based on how liberal current government is.

@--Tito--: omgomgomgomgogmogmogmgogmg tito i literally fell out of my chair laughing.. Seriously if gizmodo does weekly nominated comments like kotaku im so nominating you..

zsakul2

@TDBURN: Where else would that "Bilbo Baggins" video have come from?

FaustianSlip

@TDBURN: Spock was a Mormon!?!

@Valnen: Now you are just proving your sheep-like conformity.

Haven't even done any of the aforementioned hallucinagens, but that's just personal choice - anyone with a brain can see that "legality" is just a matter of current public opinion. Alcohol, tobacco, and even caffeine or acetominophen are no different. And while I agree that certain drugs should be controlled, your statement that anyone using an "illegal" drug should be "wiped off the face of the world" does in fact make you a complete and utter... how do I put this... fucking douche bag.

@Conrad: As much as I like to say drugs were to help I'm pretty sure he was day dreaming.

Omar Abuhashish

@Valnen: So if alcohol was banned today, as it once was, would you want anyone who drank alcohol wiped off the face of the earth?

Read up on the reasons drugs like Marijuana and LSD were banned, and you'll see it isn't as black and white as you clearly want the issue to be.

Kirril

steve jobs having this convo = robert plant having the same...

worst. giz commenter. ever.

@Conrad: Pa-lease.

@Americun MORAN©: I love gadgets and technology. Why else?

@Valnen: One more time for those of us in the cheap seats, why are you here?

@Conrad: unless you add vodka to the equation. I had a 'friend' who had little 'devils' emerging from trees and chasing him. I had seen him prior to this while he was coordinating bands for the punk woodstock in Iowa City. 15 minutes later, as I walked into my apartment, the phone was ringing off the hook. The girl on the other end told me their was a guy laying in the intersection shouting out my phone#.

The only stories I've ever heard that are better are the ones told to me by friends tweeking on meth.

@Conrad: Maybe I should have just said "Illegal drugs" in my original post. I don't care if you're not breaking the law.

@Americun MORAN©: I'd add that they should throw away all medicine in their cupboards. As well as hating any medical breakthroughs brought on by MDMA, Psylocibin, Opium, Heroin, Cocaine, Marijuana, etc... Also they should get rid of their brain, it is full of the chemicals found in all drugs already.

@PaddyDugan: Vietnam. Acid on it's lonesome is relatively harmless. Scientifically speaking.

@KesMonkey: I was banned on Kotaku because I pissed people off, not because of what I said. People say worse stuff on these gawker websites all the time. I just happened to piss more people off that time. Whatever, I understand.

@Americun MORAN©: That would be true...if every single artist ever used those drugs. But here's the thing. They don't. And besides that, I don't have to like an artist as a person to like their music. I think Jimmy Page is a terrible human being, but I love Led Zeppelin.

@zjgz: I also have to add that LSD isn't actually a hallucinogen. It's a fantasticant. Hallucinations are things that don't actually exist in physical space, drugs like PSP create hallucinations. LSD warps what is actually there, you may interpret it as something different, but what you see is physically in your space.

@zjgz: Flashbacks, if they do happen, only occur within a month of taking LSD. After that they will never occur again. Unless you take more LSD, and then you have another month to experience a flashback. Also you can't take LSD two days in a row. On the second day your brain is immune to it's effects. It quickly gets over the immunity, so you should be able to trip again within two days, possibly more depending on dose.

Your friend is a liar.

@zjgz: You're friend was either unstable to begin with or was seriously bullshitting you.
I'm guessing both.

hmm since ya got me started now.
Wouldn't you like to see a positive LSD story on the news? To hear what it's all about, perhaps? Wouldn't that be interesting? Just for once?

"Today, a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration - that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There's no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we're the imagination of ourselves. Here's Tom with the weather." Bill Hicks again

@Valnen: You see, I think drugs have done some good things for us. I really do. And if you don't believe drugs have done good things for us, do me a favor. Go home tonight. Take all your albums, all your tapes and all your CDs and burn them. 'Cause you know what, the musicians that made all that great music that's enhanced your lives throughout the years were rrreal fucking high on drugs. Bill Hicks

They lost me at the creative thinking part, I want to see evidence. Maybe jobs should have done some DMT instead.

@Valnen: This bowl is in honor of you then.

@dark42: Ha, or unless you decide to walk naked around the neighborhood and use your taekwondo lessons on the police k-9 that's after you.

You read Giz cornbread?

@World iS Mi iPhone!!: Pink Taco, greenglobe

No wonder Apple makes almost evrything white......

nightwheel

@Tech-Hedz: Shriek! A madman!

I've done drugs. Had some fun, but glad that part of my life is over.

While I firmly believe everyone needs to live their own life, I also can't shake the feeling that crap kills your soul (whatever that is to you).

newgalactic

@Conrad: Ehhh, I wouldn't really dig the flashbacks or whatever they're called though. My one friend really got into acid and when talking on the phone with her she would randomly have hallucinations even though she wasn't on acid at the time. She thought it was cool but that would have freaked me the fuck out if it happened to me. I'll stick with marijuana...

zjgz

@Valnen: You've already been banned from commenting on Kotaku for expressing your extremist views. Care to tone it down a little?

KesMonkey

@TDBURN: It's his way...

Chezedog

@Matt Heimlich: "Matt to base - When did we fly next to clowns?"

@Valnen: I have a lovely brownie for you... =)

shorty63136

@dark42: Which doesn't happen, often. Most fliers are on various other substances.

LSD alters reality, it doesn't create a false reality.

@yeti: The double helix was discovered while high on LSD, as far as I have been informed.

@dark42: riiiight.

yeti

@Conrad: Including DNA? To my knowledge neither Watson or Crick or Franklin (if you choose to include her) have ever personally attributed their discoveries to LSD. Maybe you are thinking of Kary Mullis who invented the PCR technique.

yeti

@Unknown2U: EDC was massive this year, but yes shrooms are quite a character.

defuse

@Tech-Hedz: Dude, it sounds like you're on acid now...

ngallion

@Valnen: so you have never used any type of mind altering drug, eh?

Not too many friends, eh?

I would love to see people with such anger and hostility get some help. You are the type to talk real big in here, and be oh so small out in the real world.

Good luck with your broken, pathetic mind.

pkizzle

LSD is a fantastic drug. Best one ever created. Orange Pyramid took me to new dimensions. Alas, I had to grow up at some point, and as a result, haven't had it for 24 years now.

Word on the street has it that Spock used LDS back in the 70s!

TDBURN

@Illist: I really don't care what druggies think of me anyway.

@Conrad: dolphins cant talk?

@Valnen: Uh, I will just let the kids on here sick you. Good Luck.

Illist

Any word on Jobs's response? I didn't see any mention in the links, although that could just be me and the the afterglow.

On a side note, LSD helped me smell the color purple and learn to play moonlight sonata in its entirety while a friend of mine can still solve any rubik's cube in under 30 seconds, just from a single night with the stuff.

I would love to see everyone who uses these types of drugs wiped off the face of the world.

@Tech-Hedz: Where is the edit button, haha. OMG..

@d1gw33d: That makes sense, as ecstasy is the only one of those that can do actual damage.

dark42

@GiltProto: No, LSD by itself is harmless, unless you suddenly feel like you can fly.

dark42

@Tech-Hedz:

Nah, It was in 1998 when that happened. I'll need to check out Donnie Darko though, maybe the writer of that film took acid too, haha. I only caught part of Darko when I was younger. I'll have to check it out though.

@tehdahl:

Well this was a in 1998. Maybe the person who wrote it also got their inspiration from Acid

@d1gw33d: that'd be "feelings" not fillings... see... the e-tard comes out

d1gw33d

did acid 5x... fun times everytime... never saw negative side effects but my friends and I never went over board... shrooms probably about 10x and had a couple "bad trips" but very similar types of fillings from them both..

mdma however... did waaaaay too much of that and I'm pretty sure it made me boarderline retarded

d1gw33d

Russian Roulette with chemicals. Personally, the I wish I'd never heard of LSD. Still trying to decide which fried more friends: Acid or Vietnam...

PaddyDugan

@Conrad:
It helped me discover my shoes could talk!

... They were pissed off about the odor as much as I was.

@GiltProto: Nope just your sanity :D I love me some gel tabs!

biggerx

Ahhh California land of IOU's, what was the post about?

Kingteddybear

@Leonce: I waited until I was in my mid twenties, secure life/career etc. Just in case I totally lost my shit for a while afterwards. As someone who hasn't ever even smoken a cigarette or partaken in any recreational drug use other than LSD, I can absolutely recommend it. Just be safe :)

Isn't this stuff bad for your liver?

GiltProto

I would say very usefull,

fleebailey33

@Leonce: LSD is one of the safest drugs known to man.

@Tech-Hedz:
Hm.
You apparently also watched Donnie Darko one too many times.

@Unknown2U:
We both know you can't make the trip without the drugs.
Silly boy.

I'd probably try it when I'm much older. Though I've seen the effects of drugs personally at a young age and I'd hate to end up like a few family members did.

Leonce

Probably the only drug besides shrooms I would ever give a go, if not for the fact that I'd be tested for it/it could cause some wonky side effects if I ever choose to be a fighter pilot.

Matt Heimlich

@Tech-Hedz:

I mean drew a chart that explained. Too much wine with dinner. :P

I remember when I was 18 and tried LSD for the first time. I drew a charge explained how time ran like a movie in frames and how dimensions intersected at specific frames but drifted apart leading to other outcomes and other dimensions and alternate realities. I miss those days.

@Conrad: Howard talked to Hagbard AND George!

Tirkoâ„¢

@World iS Mi iPhone!!: 80 miles north of you in Temecula here. Got some last year @ EDC. Wasn't able to make it there this year. Although I do love me some shrooms too.

Unknown2U

Blotter, Windowpane, dancing bears, rainbow, purple something....hmm..long time ago.

World iS Mi iPhone!!

@Unknown2U: San Diego wants to know!!! ;-)

World iS Mi iPhone!!

LSD rules. It's so hard to find in So Cal though. I probably need to make a trip to Nor Cal for it.

Unknown2U

LSD brought us so many wonderful discoveries. Including DNA, but sadly also the idea that dolphins could talk.

I saw "Albert Hoffman," and thought it said "Abbie Hoffman," and thought "well... giz... Abbie Hoffman didn't exactly *invent* LSD.."

MichaelBrazell

@Justinpaulson: Ah yes, and hearsay is always correct.

@Valnen: And what makes you think that you have the right to share your outrageous views here, on a gadget blog, of which you are a guest? Gawker determines whether you have that right or not.

You don't seem to have accepted the fact that there's a good reason that you were banned from commenting on Kotaku. It is a direct result of the views you expressed there. You angered a lot of people. Obviously, at least one editor was included in that group of people who found your comments to be inappropriate.

Just because you can stand on the street and freely express views like yours, does not mean you can get away with expressing them within a blog.

I suspect that the only reason you haven't been banned from commenting here on Gizmodo aswell, is that your comment may have gone unnoticed by an editor, which is something I intend to rectify now.

KesMonkey

@Valnen: First, you wished people wiped off the face of the earth, and now I don't have the right to request that you don't express extreme views like that? Of course I have that right. How dare you suggest that I don't. You could have expressed your dislike for drugs and drug users in a mature, balanced and educated way, but you didn't. Instead, you wished for the deaths of millions of human beings. I for one, do not condone the use of LSD, at all, and I find your comments disgusting.

KesMonkey

@KesMonkey: That's not your right to say that. This article is about drugs, so I am free to say what I think about drugs like LSD. And to everyone who flamed me, I think you missed the part where I said that I don't care what druggies care about me. Have a nice day.

@ThickSkinned:

It's dependent on dose. If you took enough to trip for 4 days, because of a larger dose towards the beginning, you will trip for multiple days in a row. The brain develops immunities to LSD within days of taking it. On average the next day a person can not take another hit. After your 4th day, it is unlikely that you would have been able to trip until the 6th or 7th day. There are always exceptions, but that doesn't make it the rule.

"Many of these drugs have a profound emotional effect. They make the user feel in touch either with others around them or with their inner selves, feel closer to god or the universe, or just feel ecstatic, enhancing the enjoyment of music and dancing and being with other people. For this reason a variety of other names have been suggested that describe some of the other effects. These include phantasticants, psychedelics(mind manifesters), entactogens(touching within), and empathogenics(empathy creators). The latter three were proposed in an attempt to describe an effect of these drugs that causes the user to achieve insights into him- or herself and achieve a closer empathy with others. They have been proposed by those who feel that these drugs are useful tools in psychotherapy (Metzner, 1993)." -Drugs and Behavior, An introduction to Behavioral Pharmacology William A. McKim

@snubz: Let's try this again (the new system keeps crashing my browser)... I'm just a fan of non-biased scientific drug information. Psychopharmacology is my game.

hooray for LSD

Jonathan Butler

@KesMonkey: Covering up opinions you don't like doesn't make them disappear. Remember that.

@Valnen:

I bet you go to Church.

Not that I have any problem with Christians, I just bet you go to church.

Against abortion too maybe?

I'm Jewish if you feel like slinging any back.

Awesom-o