“To worship me take wine and strange drugs whereof I will tell my prophet, & be drunk thereof! They shall not harm ye at all.” — AL II:22
Albert Hofmann, Lugano, Switzerland, at the 50th Anniversary of LSD Conference sponsored by Sandoz Pharmaceuticals and the Swiss Psycholitic Association of Analysts. Photograph taken October, 1993, by Philip H. Bailey and used under Creative Commons.
Today is the feast of Albert Hoffman, who died just 11 years ago on April 29, 2008. Born January 11, 1906 in Baden, Switzerland, Hoffman is known best for being the first person to synthesize, ingest, and learn about the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). He also was the first to isolate, synthesize, and name psilocybin and psilocin, the active ingredients in psychedelic mushrooms. While LSD and magic mushrooms are illegal in the United States, nor should readers mistake information for advocacy, there are some merits to the responsible pursuit of enlightenment through entheogens (that is, psychoactive substances inducing spiritual experience).
In honor of Albert Hoffman, here are selected recipes from his home town of Basel.
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