Ergot to LSD | Discovery| Chemical Structure | How It Works | LSD’s Affect on History | History’s Affect on LSD | References
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Ergot to LSD | Discovery| Chemical Structure | How It Works | LSD’s Affect on History | History’s Affect on LSD | References
LSD brought about a significant amount of psychological research in the 1950s and 1960s. One particular area of Scientific research included the fundamental hypothesized that experimenting with LSD could have been able to help us understand permanent psychosis, as using LSD often produces feelings of psychosis.
It is also undeniable that LSD created and heavily influenced the environment of the 1960s in America. It was the drug of the youth and the rebellious. Many famous icons including the Beatles and Timothy Leary took LSD for creative and religious inspiration.
LSD’s association with Student Riot groups and other youth groups fighting to end the Vietnam War ultimately led to a nation wide “war on drugs.” Drug policy was created and enforced, with LSD at the top of the list of Schedule 1 drugs.
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Ergot to LSD | Discovery| Chemical Structure | How It Works | LSD’s Affect on History | History’s Affect on LSD | References
Although LSD itself is synthetic, understanding basic knowledge of ergot, LSD’s primary derivative, is helpful to appreciate the circumstances under which LSD was created. Ergot, a naturally occurring fungus, grows upon rye and is recognized for its medical value. Historically, ergot has been the cause of mass poisonings across cultures (ergotism), and was also a probable cause of the Salem witch trials, as mentioned in Napoleon’s Buttons. Beginning in the late sixteenth century, the first recorded medical use of ergot was as a drug to help with childbirth. Unfortunately, this use was ultimately unable to be sustained, as it too often lead to uterine spasms and other dangers to the child, which are characteristics that ergot commonly shares with LSD. As a result, it wasn’t until 1930s that this research was fully re-established, leading to the discovery of lysergic acid as the shared component of all ergot alkaloids.
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