$bbtitle
Apple Stock: 199.92 ( -0.59 )
RSS RSS Twitter Twitter
Search:
AppleInsider.com Archives News Bytes Reviews Anonymous Mailer Submit Story AppleInsider Forums Mac Prices Polls Advertise on AppleInsider Contact AppleInsider
Save up to $280 on new MacBook Pros and up to $165 on brand new iMacs with special coupons: Mac Pricing Guide updated Nov 20th (Find the best prices on Macs).
Thursday, July 9, 2009

Published: LSD inventor's letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs

By Katie Marsal

Published: 11:05 AM EST

In an offbeat but somewhat fascinating article published by the Huffington Post this week, it's revealed that LSD inventor Albert Hofmann penned a letter to Steve Jobs shortly before his passing, in which he asked the Apple co-founder for help in transforming his problematic psychedelic into a "wonderchild."

Jobs' experimentation with psychedelics as a young man is well documented in books, movies, and media reports covering Apple's early years. As part of his search for spiritual enlightenment during the mid-70s, he was known to have dropped LSD, and has since recalled it as "one of the two or three most important things I have done in my life."

Aware of the positive effects in which the experience had on Jobs' contributions to the world of technology, Hofmann -- who was an age-defying 101 years old a the time of the letter in 2007 -- reached out to the Apple luminary at the request of his friend Rick Doblin, who runs MAPS, an organization dedicated to studying the medical and psychiatric benefits of psychedelic drugs.

Once thought to be a promising psychiatric research medicine, LSD would ultimately follow a path that would see it transform into recreational drug sparking hysteria and prohibition. This disheartened Hofmann, who from then on was known to refer to the drug as his "problem child."

"I hope you will help in the transformation of my problem child into a wonder child," Hoffman wrote in his letter to Jobs, roughly 14 months before he passed away in April of 2008. Specifically, he request that Jobs contribute to Swiss psychiatrist Dr. Peter Gasser's proposed study of LSD-assisted psychotherapy in subjects with anxiety associated with life-threatening illness -- said to be the first LSD-assisted psychotherapy study in over 35 years.

According to the Post, the letter would lead to a 30-minute conversation between Doblin and Jobs but no contribution to the cause. "He was still thinking, 'Let's put it in the water supply and turn everybody on,'" Doblin told the publication. Still, Doblin hasn't given up hope that Jobs will someday decide to contribute to the study.

A copy of Hoffman's letter and more on the role of psychedelic in the tech industry can be seen in the full report.

Filed under : General 90 Comments ] 
Story topics: Steve Jobs   Print ] [ Story Link ] 


Download Parallels 5.0 Today
Mac Poker players can play Full Tilt Poker for Mac and get 100% to $600 free with bonus code MP600, courtesy of Online Poker Mac
AppleInsider Features
Hot Forum Topics

Recent Articles
Apple's App Store approval process gets partially automated
TomTom to release iPod touch-specific GPS car kit
China Unicom expects 10% of 3G users on iPhone in 3 years
Steve Jobs e-mails terse response to upset Apple developer
Hack re-enables Atom processor compatibility for Mac OS X 10.6.2
Microsoft shareholders grill CEO about Apple, iPhone
Google outlines Chrome OS plans for netbooks
Sony announces iTunes competitor for music, movies, books
Apple investigates space-age fitness tracking technology
Web search statistics show Bing stagnant, Google growing
New apps said to make iPod touch more prominent in Apple stores
Piper: Apple tablet no more than $700, launch timing irrelevant
Major publisher preps for Apple tablet as delay, OLED rumors surface
AT&T faces setback in legal battle over Verizon ads [u]
TomTom app updated to support iPod touch, first-gen iPhone
Oct. estimates suggest Apple will sell 2.9M Macs this quarter
Microsoft retail store gets odd viral marketing buzz
Rumored 'Google Phone' said to be coming in 2010
Evidence suggests Apple at work on Mac OS X 10.7
iPhone approved in South Korea; China Mobile talks continue
AT&T upgrades network as wireless traffic quadruples over past year
Apple store in upscale Greenwich, Conn., to open Saturday
Needham downgrades Apple stock on technicality
Verizon rumored to embrace Palm in 2010 to combat iPhone
Apple's iPhone App Store takes off in China
Belgian heist lands thousands of stolen Apple iPhones
Verizon responds to AT&T in court: 'The truth hurts'
Apple said to release iPhone app for in-store appointments
OnLive cloud gaming service demonstrated on Apple's iPhone
Apple tablet speculation: high-end graphics, several models
Microsoft looks to combat Apple globally with Zune content
Apple met with AdMob weeks before acquisition by Google
Apple earns key legal victory against Psystar
Apple looks to hire AAA game developer for in-house iPhone team
Apple's next-gen iPhone power amp; NASA chemical sensor app
Bill Gates praises Steve Jobs for saving Apple
AT&T responds to 'false and misleading' Verizon ads
Apple unveils browser-based iTunes Preview
AT&T asks court to pull Verizon's 'misleading' iPhone ads
Conflicting reports within Qualcomm suggest Verizon-only iPhone

AppleInsider Market Place

Sell your Laptop - working or not. Free shipping.: Get an instant online quote and sell your laptop today !

Believe in Office: Save Up To 25% on Office 2004 For Mac. Visit Our Site for Details!

IBackup - SMB Online Backup: IBackup is the preferred online storage and backup service of choice for SMBs for its ease of use, security and value. Offers automated backup and restore, file selection and securiy.

Download free software - everyday updated freeware files

 
Advertisements








AppleInsider RSS Feed
AppleInsider © 1997-2008
Please review our Privacy Policy.
Written/Edited/Compiled by the AppleInsider Staff.