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The Alternative History of LSD with Richard Weight at the Century Club - Soho W1 Wednesday 13th November 2019 Doors open at 6:30 pm, Talk commences at 7:00 pm Lysergic acid diethylamide was first synthesised in 1938 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, who described it as "medicine for the soul”. Over the years it has been put to a variety of uses: by doctors to treat post traumatic stress disorder, by psychiatrists to unlock the subconscious, by zoologists to attempt to communicate with dolphins and by the CIA and the US Army as a mind-control drug for interrogations and military operations. It has inspired cultural icons such as Aldous Huxley, Timothy Leary, Hunter S Thompson, The Merry Pranksters and Beatles, with the drug’s initials spelled out in the title of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". From the mid 1960s LSD began to be banned around the world, however Hofmann took it for his whole life and lived to the age of 102. In this talk, cultural historian Richard Weight will explore the “people’s history” of this drug, which has been demonised by politicians and romanticised by ‘psychonauts’ in equal measure. Richard Weight |
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OTHER SALON DATES AT THE CENTURY |
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