Psychedelic drugs as therapy
On 19 April 1943, Swiss chemist Albert Hoffmann ingested a small dose of a chemical he had synthesised and experienced the world’s first LSD trip. His experience ushered in two decades of experimentation and clinical research into psychedelic drugs until it was cut short by prohibition in 1970. 75 years on, the USA seems poised to start licensing psychedelics for the treatment of mental illness. This may not only lead to a huge breakthrough in psychiatry but may also mean that we are approaching a time when human beings are once again free to take whatever mind-altering substances they fancy...