LSD: Was it discovered or created ?

The never-ending question

Does LSD naturally grow on rye?!

I keep reading it in only posts and even on news pages. Even my own friends try to tell me all the, how LSD (Lysergic acid diethyl amide) was discovered. I can't help but feel tired after telling everyone the same thing over and over again: LSD was created- not discovered. To end this bottomless debate once and for all, I feel compelled to write this detailed deconstruction of this popular myth.

Why do people believe that LSD was discovered ?

To be honest, I can't even blame them. Even the creator of LSD himself, Dr. Albert Hofmann is famously quoted to have said:

"I didn't discover LSD... the LSD came to me"

Dr. Hofmann surely didn't think much when he made this claim in front of mainstream journalist. However, out of all people, Dr. Hofmann surely knew that he created it. More fuel for this misconception that LSD was the product of Dr. Hofmann's research on (the compounds contained in) ergot, a parasitic mushroom that preferably grows on rye. This is why many people do believe that LSD can be extracted from ergot the same way mescaline could be extracted from Peyotl- or San Pedro cacti. This however is wrong.

What is LSD and how was it created ?

Lysergic acid (LS)                                                   Lysergic acid deithylamide (LSD-25)

LSD(on the right) is created from lysergic acid(on the left) by adding a -diethyl amide group in a condensation reaction. Hence, it's a derivative of lysergic acid. It does not appear anywhere in nature, it can only be created through synthesis. "But how was it first synthesised?" you might ask:
In 1938, Albert Hofmann was experimenting with ergot, a kind of mushroom that grows on rye, hopes of isolating the medical compounds found in ergot. He usually worked with a product of ergot called ergoline, which contained lysergic acid. LSD was the 25th derivative he synthesised from lysergic acid, as such he abbreviated it LSD-25. LSD is a synthetic compounds, not to be confused with LSA another derivative of lysergic acid, which naturally occurs in the seeds of several vines.
I wrote an article all about LSA. Click here, to get to it.

Do you want to learn more about the history of LSD? You're in luck, because I made a video about the miraculous circumstances of the first synthesis of LSD and how Albert Hofmann first accidentally came in contact with LSD. I also tried to visit the original lab of Albert Hofmann, where he synthesised LSD and later worked on Salvia Divinorum and Psilocybin-containing mushrooms. 
Click here to get to the video!