Albion Dreaming Read Online Free PDF

sure how the substance had entered his system but he was certain of one thing: if LSD-25 was responsible for his symptoms it must be incredibly potent in minute dosages. As the drug hadn’t caused an abreaction, Hofmann reasoned the most logical way to proceed was to try a scientific self-experiment.
    In his laboratory, at 4.20 pm three days later Hofmann took 250 μg of LSD-25 dissolved in water. At 5.00 pm he noted in his laboratory journal: “17.00: beginning dizziness, feeling of anxiety, visual distortions, symptoms of paralysis, desire to laugh.” That was the last entry in the journal that day. Hofmann wassoon overwhelmed by the effects of the drug and had to ask his laboratory assistant to escort him home. As it was wartime they travelled by bicycle, Hofmann experiencing progressively more florid symptoms of the drug. The visual distortions increased in intensity and at one point he felt he was not making any headway on his bicycle, even though they were moving quite rapidly. When he arrived home he could barely stand, having just enough self awareness to ask a neighbour to call a doctor and bring him some milk as an antidote to the poisoning he believed he was suffering.
    When the milk arrived Hofmann, now laid on a sofa, saw his neighbour as a masked witch bent on doing him harm. The room was spinning and the physical world was in a state of flux, once ordinary items such as furniture changing shape, size and perspective. Hofmann’s internal world was in turmoil too. He believed he was possessed by a demon that was preventing him from exercising his will and this intensified his general anxiety. Then the thought struck him that the drug was causing him to go insane. He saw himself as if from outside his body, an impotent witness to the runaway psychological drama unfolding in his mind. What would his wife and children think? If he failed to return to sanity would they understand he had been trying a scientific experiment and not indiscriminately experimenting with drugs? All these thoughts were born and multiplied in ever more convoluted permutations in Hofmann’s consciousness as he lay on the sofa. From the depths of his confusion Hofmann realised, somewhat wryly, that if he died as a result of his experiment it would be as a direct result of a drug he had discovered.
    Though the drug’s intensity had begun to wane by the time the doctor arrived Hofmann was still unable to formulate a coherent sentence. It was left to the laboratory assistant to give an account of what had happened as the doctor gave Hofmann a check up. Other than dilated pupils the doctor could find nothing wrong with his patient, who he ordered to bed. Once in bed, with the drug starting to wear off, Hofmann lost his fear of insanity and began to enjoy the experience. A state of synaesthesia ensued, with auditory sensations transforming into visual imagery of seemingly endless shape and colour. When his wife returned Hofmann was lucidenough to tell her what had happened after which, exhausted, he finally fell asleep.
    When he awoke the following morning Hofmann was tired but suffused with a sensation of well-being. His senses appeared highly tuned: “When I later walked out into the garden, in which the sun shone now after a spring rain, everything glistened and sparkled in a fresh light. The world was as if newly created. All my senses vibrated in a condition of highest sensitivity, which persisted for the entire day.” 6
    Hofmann reflected on his extraordinary experience for the next few days. He concluded that LSD-25 was a potent drug, highly active in infinitesimal doses. Hofmann was also impressed that despite the intense and overwhelming effect of the drug he was conscious throughout and afterwards able to clearly recall the details of the experience. Though he couldn’t immediately foresee the uses to which LSD-25 would be put, he was certain the drug had a place in medical science, especially psychiatry. Hofmann’s discovery