[...only the conclusions of this paper are made publicly available via
anonymous ftp, interested persons should visit their libraries...]
(Originally printed in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Vol 21(1),
Jan-Mar 1989).
LSD and Creativity (reproduced w/o permission)
------------------
Oscar Janiger, M.D. (Department of Psychiatry, University of
California, Irvine, California)
Marlene Dobkin de Rios, Pd. D. (Department of Anthropology, California
State University, Fullerton, California)
CONCLUSION
Contrary to popular belief, most artists find it possible to exercise
some technical proficiency, with varying degrees of success, under the
influence of LSD. This seems to improve with repeated experiences. The
artistic productions are not ipso facto inferior to those performed in
ordinary states of consciousness. However, in evaluating the reports
and follow-up questionnaires, they are often judged by the artists to
be more interesting or even aesthetically superior to their usual mode
of expression. A review of the follow-up information shows that, in
many instances, the artist in the series described herein felt that
the LSD experience pruduced some desirable lasting change in their
understanding of their work, which continued to incluence the form and
direction of their artistic development. A so-called confusional or
disorganized phase may represent a creative crisis in which the artis
struggling, to maintain his/her traditional approach, finally reaches
another level of integration and expression.
These metamorphoses all contribute to the artists' convictions that
they are able to create new meanings in an emergent world. It is of
special interest to note that many of those elements that are
universally reported under the influence of LSD are those features
traditionally associated with heightened artistic creativity. The
ultiamte explanation for these changes may lie in a biochemical basis
of perception and/or the cultural history of the individual.
**************************** Article Separation *******************************
I was reading a back copy of The Journal of Drug Issues looking at an article
on additiction when I came accross annother article. A chemistry for world
peace. Willam H. McGlothlin, Journal of Drug Issues, Spring 1985, 225-245.
Ok so it is a twinkie title, however it is perhaps the best article I have ever
read on acid. The abstract;
This paper presents an argument for research into
the means of altering individual attitudes, values,
and communication abilities in the direction of
increased social empathy, which , inturn would
produce a more favorable enviroment for resolving
differences and facilitate peaceful negotions
between individuals and nations. It is proposed
that prior research with the drug d-lysergic acid
diethylamide (LSD), shows sufficient promise in
producing relatively long-lasting changes in the
above areas to merit further research. Furthermore,
the use of LSD has been demonstrated to be quite
safe _under supervisory conditions_, i.e. the
guided "trip." LSD is also non-toxic and
non-addictive.
A brief history of psychedelic drugs is
provided along with a description of thier
psychological effects. Some possible modes of
action are discussed. LSD and other psychedelics
are seen as a possible means of tapping mental
resources which are not ordinarily available, but
which may be of great value to the individual and
ultimately to the society.
The man who wrote it is unfortunantly dead, he was a well recognized scholar
with a number of awards from academia and the government. He worked for RAND
for a number of years and was no brainless yammerhead (despite the twinkie
title).
The article is full of all kinds of interesting things, A very good brief
history of LSD and other psychedelics, one of the dest descriptions of an LSD
experience I have ever encountered here is part:
About 30 minutes after ingesting LSD the
subject normally experiences a feeling of dizziness
or intoxication. One of the most common early
emotional reactions is smiling and laughing, which
sometimes develops into uncontrollable laughing
and/or crying. With closed eyes there is a
lightening of the normal gray-black expanse and
almost invariably colorful and luminous geometric
designs appear in the field of vision. They may
change into architechtural structures which
freaquently are in very saturated colors and appear
to be glowing from an internal light.
He goes on to discuss changes resulting from the LSD experience (almost all are
beneficial), and then talks about side effects. One nifty factoid;
Estimated rates of Major Complications Associated with LSD
Attempted completed psychotic reaction
suicide suicide over 48 hours
experimental
subjects- 0/1000 0/1000 0.8/1000
patients
undergoing
therapy- 1.2/1000 0.4/1000 1.8/1000
(w/o psychobabble that means like really fucking good)
There are also three and a half pages of cited references which alone is worth
diggin up the article.
****************************** Article Separation *****************************
Title: LSD - My Problem Child
By: Albert Hofmann
[reproduced without permission]
[this document contains only the translators preface and the forward]
[if anyone knows the info on how to obtain this book mail order, ISBN numbers,
etc pls e-mail [lamon t g] at [milton.u.washington.edu] so it can be incl. here]
Translator's Preface
Numerous accounts of the discovery of LSD have been published in English;
none, unfortunately, have been completely accurate. Here, at last, the father
of LSD details the history of his "problem child" and his long and fruitful
career as a research chemist. In a real sense, this book is the inside story
of the birth of the Psychedelic Age, and it cannot be denied that we have here
a highly candid and personal insight into one of the most important scientific
discoveries of our time, the signiflcance of which has yet to dawn on mankind.
Surpassing its historical value is the immense philosophical import of this
work. Never before has a chemist, an expert in the most materialistic of the
sciences, advanced a Weltanschauung of such a mystical and transcendental
nature. LSD, psilocybin, and the other hallucinogens do indeed, as Albert
Hofmann asserts, constitute "cracks" in the edifice of materialistic
rationality, cracks we would do well to explore and perhaps widen.
As a writer, it gives me great satisfaction to know that by this book the
American reader interested in hallucinogens will be introduced to the work of
Rudolf Gelpke, Ernst Junger, and Walter Vogt, writers who are all but unknown
here. With the notable exceptions of Huxley and Wasson, English and American
writers on the hallucinogenic experience have been far less distinguished and
eloquent than they.
This translation has been carefully overseen by Albert Hofmann, which made my
task both simpler and more enjoyable. I am beholden to R. Gordon Wasson for
checking the chapters on LSD's "Mexican relatives" and on "Ska Maria Pastora"
for accuracy and style.
Two chapters of this book - "How LSD Originated" and "LSD Experience and
Reality" - were presented by Albert Hofmann as apaperbefore the international
conference "Hallucinogens, Shamanism and Modern Life" in San Francisco on the
afternoon of Saturday, September 30, 1978. As a part of the conference
proceedings, the first chapter has been published in the Journal of
Psychedetic Drugs, Vol. 11 (1-2), 1979.
JONATHAN OTT
Vashon Island, Washington
FOREWORD
There are experiences that most of us are hesitant to speak about, because
they do not conform to everyday reality and defy rational explanation. These
are not particular external occurrences, but rather events of our inner lives,
which are generally dismissed as figments of the imagination and barred from
our memory. Suddenly, the familiar view of our surroundings is transformed in
a strange, delightful, or alarming way: it appears to us in a new light, takes
on a special meaning. Such an experience can be as light and fleeting as a
breath of air, or it can imprint itself deeply upon our minds.
One enchantment of that kind, which I experienced in childhood, has remained
remarkably vivid in my memory ever since. It happened on a May morning - I
have forgotten the year - but I can still point to the exact spot where it
occurred, on a forest path on Martinsberg above Baden, Switzerland. As I
strolled through the freshly greened woods filled with bird song and lit up by
the morning sun, all at once everything appeared in an uncommonly clear light.
Was this something I had simply failed to notice before? Was I suddenly
discovering the spring forest as it actually looked? It shone with the most
beautiful radiance, speaking to the heart, as though it wanted to encompass me
in its majesty. I was filled with an indescribable sensation of joy, oneness,
and blissful security.
I have no idea how long I stood there spellbound. But I recall the anxious
concern I felt as the radiance slowly dissolved and I hiked on: how could a
vision that was so real and convincing, so directly and deeply felt - how
could it end so soon? And how could I tell anyone about it, as my overflowing
joy compelled me to do, since I knew there were no words to describe what I
had seen? It seemed strange that I, as a child, had seen something so
marvelous, something that adults obviously did not perceive - for I had never
heard them mention it.
While still a child, I experienced several more of these deeply euphoric
moments on my rambles through forest and meadow. It was these experiences that
shaped the main outlines of my world view and convinced me of the existence of
a miraculous, powerful, unfathomable reality that was hidden from everyday
sight.
I was often troubled in those days, wondering if I would ever, as an adult, be
able to communicate these experiences; whether I would have the chance to
depict my visions in poetry or paintings. But knowing that I was not cut out
to be a poet or artist, I assumed I would have to keep these experiences to
myself, important as they were to me.
Unexpectedly - though scarcely by chance - much later, in middle age, a link
was established between my profession and these visionary experiences from
childhood.
Because I wanted to gain insight into the structure and essence of matter, I
became a research chemist. Intrigued by the plant world since early childhood,
I chose to specialize in research on the constituents of medicinal plants. In
the course of this career I was led to the psychoactive, hallucination-causing
substances, which under certain conditions can evoke visionary states similar
to the spontaneous experiences just described. The most important of these
hallucinogenic substances has come to be known as LSD. Hallucinogens, as
active compounds of considerable scientific interest, have gained entry into
medicinal research, biology, and psychiatry, and later - especially LSD also
obtained wide diffusion in the drug culture.
In studying the literature connected with my work, I became aware of the great
universal significance of visionary experience. It plays a dominant role, not
only in mysticism and the history of religion, but also in the creative
process in art, literature, and science. More recent investigations have shown
that many persons also have visionary experiences in daily life, though most
of us fail to recognize their meaning and value. Mystical experiences, like
those that marked my childhood, are apparently far from rare.
There is today a widespread striving for mystical experience, for visionary
breakthroughs to a deeper, more comprehensive reality than that perceived by
our rational, everyday consciousness. Efforts to transcend our materialistic
world view are being made in various ways, not only by the adherents to
Eastern religious movements, but also by professional psychiatrists, who are
adopting such profound spiritual experiences as a basic therapeutic principle.
I share the belief of many of my contemporaries that the spiritual crisis
pervading all spheres of Western industrial society can be remedied only by a
change in our world view. We shall have to shift from the materialistic,
dualistic belief that people and their environment are separate, toward a new
consciousness of an all-encompassing reality, which embraces the experiencing
ego, a reality in which people feel their oneness with animate nature and all
of creation.
Everything that can contribute to such a fundamental alteration in our
perception of reality must therefore command earnest attention. Foremost among
such approaches are the various methods of meditation, either in a religious
or a secular context, which aim to deepen the consciousness of reality by way
of a total mystical experience. Another important, but still controversial,
path to the same goal is the use of the consciousness-altering properties of
hallucinogenic psychopharmaceuticals. LSD finds such an application in
medicine, by helping patients in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy to perceive
their problems in their true significance.
Deliberate provocation of mystical experience, particularly by LSD and related
hallucinogens, in contrast to spontaneous visionary experiences, entails
dangers that must not be underestimated. Practitioners must take into account
the peculiar effects of these substances, namely their ability to influence
our consciousness, the innermost essence of our being. The history of LSD to
date amply demonstrates the catastrophic consequences that can ensue when its
profound effect is misjudged and the substance is mistaken for a pleasure
drug. Special internal and external advance preparations are required; with
them, an LSD experiment can become a meaningful experience. Wrong and
inappropriate use has caused LSD to become my problem child.
It is my desire in this book to give a comprehensive picture of LSD, its
origin, its effects, and its dangers, in order to guard against increasing
abuse of this extraordinary drug. I hope thereby to emphasize possible uses of
LSD that are compatible with its characteristic action. I believe that if
people would learn to use LSD's vision-inducing capability more wisely, under
suitable conditions, in medical practice and in conjunction with meditation,
then in the future this problem child could become a wonder child.
**************************** Article Separation ****************************
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Distribution: world
Subject: From the Merck Manual -- LSD references, etc
Keywords: LSD, Lysergic Acid Amide, Lysergic Acid
Summary: A couple of pages of copywrite infringement
From the 11th Edition of the Merck manual, the "Centennial Edition" no less:
[perhaps something to drop in the FAQ?]
5505. Lysergamide. 9,10-Didehydro-6-methylergoline-
8beta-carboxamide; lysergic acid amide; ergine. C16H17N3O;
mol wt 267.32. C 71.88%, H 6.41%, N 15.72%, O 5.99%.
Isoln from _Rivea_corymbosa_(L.) and from _Ipomoea_tricolor_
Cav., _Convolvulaceae_: Hofmann, Tscherter, _Experientia_ 16,
414 (1964). Prepn from lysergic acid hydrazide: Ainsworth,
U.S. pat. 2,756,235 (1956 to Lilly); from lysergic acid and
phosgene-dimethylformamide complex: Patelli, Bernardi,
U.S. pat. 3,141,887 (1964 to Farmitalia). Microbiological
production: Rutschmann, Kobel, U.S. pat. 3,219,545 (1965
to Sandoz).
H. CONH2
'. /
/ \
/ \
|| |
|| N
/\\ /\ / \
/ \\ / \ / CH3
|| | | \
|| | | H
\ // \ /
\// \/
| ||
| ||
HN-------
Prisms from methanol. dec 242deg. [alpha](5461)(20) + 15% (c = 0.5 in
pyridine).
Methanesulfonate, C7H21N3O4S, prisms from methanol +
acetone, dec 232deg.
Note: This is a controlled substance (depressant) listed in
the U.S. code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Part 1308.13
(1987).
5506. Lysergic Acid. 9,10-Didehydro-6-methylergoline-
8-carboxylic acid. C16H16N2O2; mol wt 268.32. C 71.62%,
H 6.01%, N 10.44%, O 11.93%. Lysergic acid and isolyser-
gic acid are the main cleavage products formed on alkaline
hydrolysis of the alkaloids which are characteristic of ergot.
Jacobs, Craig et al., _J._Biol._Chem._ 104, 547 (1934); 125, 289
(1938); 130, 399 (1939); 145, 487 (1942); _J._Org._Chem._ 10,
76 (1945). High-yield production by _Claviceps_paspali_:
Arcamone et al., _Proc._Roy._Soc._ (London), _Ser._B_, 155, 26
(1961). total synthesis: Kornfeld et al., _J._Am._Chem._Soc._
76, 5256 (1954); 78, 3087 (1956); M. Julia et al., _Tetrahedron_
_letters_ 1969, 1569; V.W. Armstrong et al., ibid. 1976, 4311;
W. Oppolzer et al., _Helv._Chem._Acta_ 64, 478 (1981); R.
Ramage et al., _Tetrahedron_ 37, Suppl. 9, 157 (1981); J.
Rebek, D.F. Tai, _Tetrahedron_Letters_ 24, 859 (1983). Ste-
reochemistry: Stoll et al., _Helv._Chem._Acta 37, 2039 (1954);
Stenlake, _J._Chem._Soc._ 1955, 1626; Leeman, Fabbri, _Helv._
_Chim._Acta_ 42, 2696 (1959). Absolute configuration: Stad-
ler, Hoffman, ibid. 45, 2005 (1962).
H. COOH
'. /
/ \
/ \
|| |
|| N
/\\ /\ / \
/ \\ / \ / CH3
|| | | \
|| | | H
\ // \ /
\// \/
| ||
| ||
HN-------
Haxagonal scales, plates with one or two moles H20 from
water, mp 240deg (dec). [alpha](D)(20) + 40deg (c = 0.5 in pyridine).
Behaves as an acid and base, pKa 3.44, pKb 7.68. Moder-
ately sol in pyridine. Sparingly sol in water and in neutral
organic solvents; sol in NaOH, NH4OH, Na2CO3, and HCL
solns. Slighly sol in dil H2SO4.
Methyl ester, thin leaflets from benzene, mp 168deg.
Note: This is a controlled substance (depressant) listed in
the U.S. code of Federal Regulations, title 21 Part 1308.13
(1987).
5507. Lysergide. 9,10-Didehydro-N,N-diethyl-6-meth-
ylergoline-8beta-carboxamide; N,N-diethyl-D-lysergamide; D-
lysergic acid diethylamide; LSD; LSD-25; Lysergsaure Di-
ethylamid. C20H25N3O; mol wt 323.42. C 74.27%, H 7.79%,
N 12.99%, O 4.95%. Microbal formation by _Claviceps_pas-
pali_ over the hydroxyethylamide; Arcamone et al., _Proc._
Roy._Soc._(London) 155B, 26 (1961). Partial synthesis: Stoll,
Hofmann, _Helv._Chim._Acta_ 26, 944 (1943); 38, 421 (1955).
Industrial prepn: Pioch; Garbrecht, U.S. pats. 2,736,728;
2,774,763 (both 1956 to Lilly); Patelli, Bernardi, U.S. pat.
3,141,887 (1964 to Farmitalia). Isotope-labeled LSD: Stoll
et al., _Helv._Chim._Acta_ 37, 820 (1954). Toxicity data: E.
Rothlin, _Ann._N.Y._Acad._Sci._ 66, 668 (1957). Review: Hof-
fer, _Clin._Pharmacol._Ther._ 6, 183 (1965). Book: _The_Use_of_
LSD_in_Psychotherapy_and_Alcoholism_, H.A. Abramson, Ed.
(Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis, 1967) 697 pp.
/ C2H5
H. CON
'. / \ C2H5
/ \
/ \
|| |
|| N
/\\ /\ / \
/ \\ / \ / CH3
|| | | \
|| | | H
\ // \ /
\// \/
| ||
| ||
HN-------
Pointed prisms from benzene, mp 80-85 degs. [alpha](D)(20) + 17deg (c =
0.5 in pyridine). uv max (ethanol): 311 nm (E(1 cm)(1%) 257).
LD50 in mice, rats, rabbits (mg/kg): 46, 16.5, 0.3 i.v.
(Rothlin).
D-Tartrate, C46H64N6O10, solvated, elongated prisoms from
methanol, mp 198-200deg. [alpha](D)(20) + 30 deg. Soluble in water.
Caution: This is a controlled substance (hallucinogen)
listed in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Part
1308.11 (1987).
USE: In biochemical research as an antagonist to serotonin.
Has been used experimentally as adjunct in study and treat-
ment of mental disorders.
NOTES: Not guaranteed to be free from typos.
Underlines are supposed to be italic (ie book/journal titles, etc)
Alpha, beta, and deg are the greek letters and the degree symbol
[alpha](D)(20) means a greek letter in [] followed by a subscript
and then a superscript (I don't know *WHAT* this actually is)
The chemical structures are almost exactly what the Merck manual has
drawn. Almost nothing was lost in the conversion to ASCII.
[if you wanted to get really technical, the lower hydrogen atom in
all of the structures should be coming out, and have a thick line]
****************************** Article Separation ****************************