Dr. Albert Hofmann is the gentleman responsible for synthesizing LSD. He did so in 1938 working as a chemist for a laboratory in Switzerland. LSD was initially developed to be a stimulant for the respiratory and circulatory systems.  However, after researches were unable to definitively determine LSD’s usefulness for such related ailments or for any condition at all, they gave up on it, for a time at least.  However, eventually, LSD would be used again.  This time it was used to treatment mental disorders such as schizophrenia.

In 1947, Sandoz Laboratories begin advertising LSD to doctors for the treatment of mental disorders. The laboratory made it available to doctors in the United States in 1948.  It went by the brand name, Delysid.  It was touted for its abilities to cure a number of psychiatric disorders, including but not limited to, schizophrenia, alcoholism, criminality and sexual perversity. Sandoz labs also reported that it was also use for psychiatrists, allowing them to better understand their patients that suffered from schizophrenia.  Researchers in the United States would soon begin a focused and prolonged study of the drug that would last over a decade. While some reported that LSD had usefulness, there were other studies that disagreed.

LSD has been used recreationally since the 1960s and is still in use today. Its popularity however, has waned between then and now. There have been some very recent reports that an increasing number of people are again using it.  However, many more individuals have moved on to drugs such as ecstasy and Ketamine, in lieu of LSD.

LSD is a psychedelic drug and people who take it report experiencing hallucinations and visions. While this can be enjoyable for some people, there is also a dark side to the drug.  People may suffer from bad trips which can be harrowing and very scary. Flashbacks and other mental disorders are also a risk. As these effects became wore wide known in the 1970 and 1980s,  studies on the drug ceased to get funding and there are now no recognized medial uses, either physical or psychological, for the drug.  Today, it is illegal to possess or use LSD.