FATHER OF LSD DIES AT 102

Albert Hofmann, the father of the drug LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamine) has died. He was 102.

The Swiss chemist discovered lysergic acid diethylamide-25 in 1938 while studying the medicinal uses of a fungus found on wheat and other grains at the Sandoz pharmaceuticals firm in Basel.
After its discovery, LSD was viewed as a wonder drug with the potential to treat problems including schizophrenia and alcoholism.

For decades after LSD was banned in the late 1960s, Hofmann defended his invention.
"I produced the substance as a medicine. ... It's not my fault if people abused it," he once said.