Intermediate Organic Chemistry

Introduction

I was lucky in that I was born in the fifties and my inquisitive years, my teens, were in the sixties and seventies. Many things were going on then that would be major headlines, ‘the swinging sixties' and all that went with that, psychedelic drugs, LSD {1} marijuana {2}, the Vietnam War (Agent Orange {3&4}), thalidomide {5} and of course the moon landings.

How could anyone fail to be in awe of these events that would unfold, and to be curious about the origins and make-up of the components of these events?

We now know that LSD has little or no value for medical research. Although initial observations on the benefits of LSD were favourable; empirical data developed subsequently proved less promising. Its use in scientific research has been extensive and its use has been widespread. Although the study of LSD and other hallucinogens increased the awareness of how chemicals could affect the mind, its use in psychotherapy has largely been shown to be false. It produces no aphrodisiac effects, does not increase creativity, and has no lasting positive effect in treating alcoholics or criminals. It does not produce a 'model psychosis', and does not cause immediate personality changes. However, drug studies have confirmed that the powerful hallucinogenic effects of this drug can produce profound adverse reactions, such as acute panic reactions, psychotic crises, and "flashbacks", especially in users ill-equipped to deal with such disturbances .

Page 2 of the Introduction

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