Albert in the sky with diamonds...

One year ago today Albert Hofmann, the medical scientist that discovered LSD in 1938, died peacefully at the amazing age of 102. For tens of millions of individuals around the world, Albert was a visionary figure and responsible for lighting a path toward enlightenment. Albert Hofmann was a warm and wonderful man, and will be missed.

My wife and I first met Albert, and his beautiful wife Anita, in 2003 at their lovely Swiss home. We spent a very long afternoon discussing a wide range of topics, and from that day forward we remained pen pals. We met again in 2006 at the International LSD Symposium held in Basel, Switzerland to honor both LSD and Albert's 100th birthday. It was an incredible experience, as anyone in attendance will testify.

There are many who knew Albert better than I, as my archived conversation with Dieter Hagenbach reveals. But after that very long afternoon in Albert and Anita's home, and our subsequent exchange of letters and cards, I felt an even closer connection to Albert Hofmann. I don't believe Albert will think I'm out of line in saying we were friends. And though his physical being is no longer among us, his spiritual presence and love surrounds us and only grows with his passing.

Albert Hofmann: January 11, 1906 ~ April 29, 2008