What a loss. I guess the story of the invention was that he tried some of what he'd come up with (derived from ergot, right?) and said "Well, crap, it's not working." and took a bike ride home. and WHAT a ride.
I'm not sure I'm tightly wrapped enough, I get high and after the 3rd hour of stonage I start gettin' a little freaked and wanting to come down... so hours and hours of lsd would probably scare me. shrooms were enough. I'm *in* my weird 20s... but I think I've experimented enough for quite awhile. Still... everyone remembers their first experiences. I remember watching the lightbulbs get sucked in and out of their sockets and the wooden paneling on the walls running like wet watercolor...
as for medicine, yeah... heroin and marijuana have fantastic medicinal qualities but H is *so* addictive, and marijuana has been abused so badly, they both have lost credibility as decent pharmaceuticals. A shame. It's like $1 gasoline. If we had access to it, would we merrily ride motorcycles, drive priuses/hybrids/geo metros, or would there be MORE hummers/ SUVs and massive trucks on the road? people aren't known for their restraint.
