No list of influential psychonauts is complete without Albert Hofmann. The Swiss chemist not only stood at the cradle of LSD, he was also the first to isolate psilocybin from mushrooms, the substance that gives magic truffles their effect. A portrait of a level-headed scientist with an extraordinary discovery.
The chemist at Sandoz
Hofmann worked as a chemist at the pharmaceutical company Sandoz in Basel. There he studied compounds derived from ergot, a fungus that grows on grain. In 1938, as part of that series, he first made a compound he called LSD-25. At the time it did not seem remarkable, and it sat in a drawer for a few years.
1943: an unexpected discovery
In April 1943 Hofmann returned to the substance and accidentally absorbed a small amount of it. He noticed strange, vivid effects. A few days later he deliberately took a dose to investigate it, and cycled home as the effects came on. That bike ride later became known as Bicycle Day, and counts as the first deliberate, documented LSD experience.
Psilocybin: the link with truffles
Less well known, but especially relevant for a smartshop: in 1958 Hofmann was also the one who isolated and synthesised psilocybin and psilocin from the Mexican mushroom Psilocybe mexicana. Psilocybin is precisely the active substance in magic truffles. So the man behind LSD also laid the chemical foundation beneath the truffles we know today.
My problem child
Hofmann had a complicated bond with his discovery. He saw its value for research, but also how LSD in the 1960s broke loose from any sense of caution. In 1979 he wrote a book about it with the telling title LSD, My Problem Child. He argued for respect and thoughtfulness, not for reckless use.
A long and clear-headed life
Hofmann lived to be 102 and stayed clear-headed and engaged well into old age. His legacy is twofold: he gave the world powerful substances, and at the same time a call to handle them with care. That combination of curiosity and caution fits well with how we look at these substances.
You can read more about the substance he isolated in our beginner's guide to magic truffles. Read the other parts in this series too: Terence McKenna, Timothy Leary and Roland Griffiths.
This article is historical and informational. LSD is not legal in the Netherlands. Magic truffles are, provided you are 18 or older, and always use responsibly.