albert hofmann, rip

Dr. Albert Hofmann, discoverer of LSD, died today of a heart attack at the ripe old age of 102, just over 65 years after a bit of carelessness in the lab (wear your gloves, kids!) made him famous and Jimi Hendrix possible.

A phenomenally talented chemist, (LSD is just one of his many accomplishments) Dr. Hofmann was also possibly one of the sanest voices in the field of psychopharmacology. While critical of what he viewed as reckless use of LSD among the 1960's counterculture, he nonetheless was troubled by the demonization of the drug and advocated for--you know, science and stuff--thinking it might be interesting and possibly even instructive to understand just how these sorts of things work, an attitude I find disturbingly lacking in the field these days. But that's a rant for another time (not to mention ground I've covered before)...

Here's wishing Dr. Hofmann an eternity of magical bicycle rides, wherever he is.

ADDENDUM--Nick Gillespie says what I wanted to say last night, but much more eloquently:

Blowing peoples' minds is never an easy thing, and not always a good thing, but Hoffman is an inspiring figure, in large part because he never lost his taste for scientific inquiry and rational analysis while expanding the borderlands of human consciousness.