Albert Hofmann, the Swiss scientist known for creating LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) died of a heart attack at his home near Basel, Switzerland on Tuesday, at the age of 102. A doctor in chemistry, Hofmann gave the world what people referred to as acid, a powerful drug whose psychedelic properties were uncovered five years after it has been initially created as an analeptic for circulatory and respiratory problems.

Hofmann studied chemistry at the University of Zurich and began working on the medicinal use of plants. LSD was first synthesized in 1938, but it wasn’t until 1943 when the scientist accidentally ingested the substance that its powers were discovered. The effects were unexpected: LSD proved to be a powerful hallucinogen, which Hofmann continued to study and experiment on himself hundreds of times.

He described the effect of consuming LSD: dizziness, restlessness, an “intoxicated like condition” which transposed into “fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors.”

LSD was first commercialized in 1947 by Sandoz, as it was believed to have therapeutic capabilities for patients who required psychiatric treatment. Although the intentions were far from what LSD rapidly became, a drug sensation in the 1960s, Hofmann’s discovery became controversial, and got to the point of being banned, first in the U.S., and later in the rest of the world.

Hofmann was very frustrated with what his LSD had become, especially because banning it was the same as closing the doors to a wide range of possibilities to discover LSD’s therapeutic properties. The scientist admitted that the drug could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands, but at the same time, he believed LSD prohibition was unfair.

In a book he wrote years later, Hofmann called LSD his “problem child,” saying he would have never expected LSD to have such an impact on the 1960 generation. Although Hofmann is gone, his legacy remains, and scientists are willing to give LSD a chance, by uncovering possible treatments for conditions such as schizophrenia.