Two amazing souls who truly changed the world. Dr. David E. Smith, founder of the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic in 1967, reflects upon a photo of he and the creator of LSD, Albert Hofmann at Hofmann’s home in 1982.
HSV: Talk about the joy of meeting Albert Hofmann. Tell me about that photo, the story, what Albert was like?
DD: I had met Albert Hofmann on some panels, and of course had read all of his books: LSD, My Problem Child, all that. I was asked to give a lecture in Switzerland, and a professor at Hofmann La Roche who worked with Albert Hofmann at Sandoz set up this meeting with Albert. In 1982, he drove us to Basel, showed us the famous bicycle path, it was kind of like a pilgrimage: “This is where it happened. This was the lab. This is where he had the psychedelic experiences with LSD.” Then we went up to Albert’s house, and he and his wife served us tea.
It was a very moving experience because our Journal of Psychedelic Drugs with our name on it — my wife Millicent who had co-edited an issue — was on his bookshelf. He complimented us on our work on advancing the issue of knowledge in the psychedelic area. It was a very cordial meeting. He told us he regularly took psychedelics, and talked about his anthropological work. He felt that psychedelics allowed him to explore intergenerational issues — way back before the conscious memory. He had all these artifacts and was very much into reinterpreting these old archeological finds. He felt that the use of plant hallucinogens were a key factor in the creation of this art form. I remember he was particularly interested in the South American, which had such great impact on him.
HSV: What was his energy, what was his vibe?
DD: Very professional, very courteous. He was friendly, not stiff. Very warm. During the second psychedelic revolution, he had been criticized, but it could not have been a nicer, more informative, positive interaction. We went out and took that photo of Millicent and my son Chris was with us, as well as the professor.
HSV: The beautiful part is that it’s a family photo, with your wife and son! Hofmann looks pretty young, pretty healthy and fit.
DD: He lived to be a 101! [102 actually! born: January 11, 1906; died April 29, 2008]
HSV: Did you guys have any conversations about taking psychedelics and what your own personal experience was with hallucinogens?
DD: I had mentioned taking LSD and how that was a factor in having a vision for the clinic. Albert was very interested in that. We talked about life-changing spiritual experiences with LSD.
He and I had nice correspondence after our visit. He sent me a lovely letter which I have framed on my wall. It was just such a positive and inspiring interaction.
