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Accidental Discoveries: LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide)

The drug was tested by researchers -- including the various military organisations -- throughout the 1940s to 1960s to determine its benefits.

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Psychedelic LSD trip.
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LSD or Lysergic Acid Diethylamide was first discovered by a chemist named Albert Hofmann in 1938 in Switzerland. He stumbled upon this drug when he was trying to create a blood stimulant from a chemical found in a fungus called ergot.

Although the chemical is most famously known for is popularity as a party drug, it wasn't until 1943 that its hallucinogenic side effects were discovered when Hofmann accidentally ingested a small amount of the substance. Through further experiments, he concluded that it only takes as little as 20 to 30 micrograms to induce a hallucinatory effect.

Throughout  the 1940s to 1960s, researchers -- including the various military organisations -- conducted experiments to explore the potential benefits of LSD. Till date, no one has found any medical use for it. It is rumoured that NASA used different drugs including LSD in an experiment on spiders and if was found that only LSD increased the spider's web regularity.

The drug was popularised in the 1960s by a  Harvard psychologist named Timothy Leary. He was later arrested and prosecuted by the American DEA for drug-related crimes. Even though studies claim that LSD is not addictive there are documented psychological side effects that a user can experience over prolonged usage, including delusions, anxiety attacks and bouts of paranoia.

If consumed in significantly large quantities, it can distort a user’s sense of time and may even cause the subject to experience extreme confusion of their own identity.

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