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The Heffter Research Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes research with classic hallucinogens and psychedelics , predominantly psilocybin , to contribute to a greater understanding of the mind and to alleviate suffering. Founded in 1993 as a virtual institute, Heffter primarily funds academic and clinical scientists and made more than $ 3.1 million in grants between 2011 and 2014. Heffter's recent clinical studies have focused on psilocybin-assisted treatment for end-of-life anxiety and depression in cancer patients, as well as alcohol and nicotine addiction .

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55-400: Arthur Heffter was a German chemist/pharmacologist/physician who first isolated pure Mescaline from the peyote cactus in the late 1890s. He also proved that mescaline was the alkaloid in the cactus that is responsible for its psychoactive properties. This was the first psychedelic compound to be isolated and identified from its natural source, making Dr. Heffter the first scientist to study

110-489: A German person in the field of medicine is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Leipzig Leipzig ( / ˈ l aɪ p s ɪ ɡ , - s ɪ x / LYPE -sig, -⁠sikh , German: [ˈlaɪptsɪç] ; Upper Saxon : Leibz'sch ; Upper Sorbian : Lipsk ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony . The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It

165-691: A house of study) in Leipzig to provide different forms of studies to Jewish students who were prohibited from attending any institutions in Germany. Jewish studies were emphasized and much of the Jewish community of Leipzig became involved. Like all other cities claimed by the Nazis, Leipzig was subject to aryanisation . Beginning in 1933 and increasing in 1939, Jewish business owners were forced to give up their possessions and stores. This eventually intensified to

220-501: A large clinical trial is underway at New York University for alcohol dependence and at Johns Hopkins University for smoking. Two earlier studies on the treatment of heroin addiction with ketamine also showed a significant benefit. Several Heffter-supported studies on Spiritual experiences and practices involving ayahuasca and psilocybin have been published. There have been more than 70 scientific publications resulting from Heffter-supported neuroscience research, mostly from

275-416: A pure psychedelic drug. Heffter's elucidation of the mescaline structure allowed it to be prepared by laboratory synthesis in 1919 by Ernst Späth , thus making it available to the wider scientific community. The institute was founded in 1993 by David E. Nichols . Co-founders included Mark Geyer, Ph.D., Charles Grob, M.D. Dennis McKenna , Ph.D., George Greer, M.D., Phil Wolfson, M.D., and Jerry Patchen. At

330-590: A significant role in precipitating the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, mainly through demonstrations starting from St. Nicholas Church . The immediate effects of the reunification of Germany included the collapse of the local economy (which had come to depend on highly polluting heavy industry ), severe unemployment, and urban blight. By the early 2000s the trend had reversed, and since then Leipzig has undergone some significant changes, including urban and economic rejuvenation, and modernisation of

385-570: A total of 63 Ortsteile (localities). Some of these correspond to outlying villages which have been annexed by Leipzig. Like many cities in Eastern Germany, Leipzig has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ), with significant continental influences due to its inland location. Winters are cold, with an average temperature of around 1 °C (34 °F). Summers are generally warm, averaging at 19 °C (66 °F) with daytime temperatures of 24 °C (75 °F). Precipitation in winter

440-911: A trade city since at least the time of the Holy Roman Empire . The city sits at the intersection of the Via Regia and the Via Imperii , two important medieval trade routes. Leipzig's trade fair dates back to 1190. Between 1764 and 1945, the city was a centre of publishing. After the Second World War and during the period of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) Leipzig remained a major urban centre in East Germany, but its cultural and economic importance declined. Events in Leipzig in 1989 played

495-556: Is about half that of the summer. The amount of sunshine differs significantly between winter and summer, with an average of around 51 hours of sunshine in December (1.7 hours per day) compared with 229 hours of sunshine in July (7.4 hours per day). Leipzig was first documented in 1015 in the chronicles of Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg as urbs Libzi ( Chronicon , VII, 25) and endowed with city and market privileges in 1165 by Otto

550-497: Is now part of the city, Friedrich Schiller wrote his poem " Ode to Joy ". An older spelling of Leipzig in English is Leipsic . The Latin name Lipsia was also used. The name Leipzig is commonly held to derive from lipa , the common Slavic designation for linden trees , making the city's name etymologically related to Lipetsk, Russia and Liepaja, Latvia . Based on medieval attestations like Lipzk (c. 1190),

605-467: Is one of the oldest symphony orchestras in the world. Several well-known composers lived and worked in Leipzig, including Johann Sebastian Bach (1723 to 1750) and Felix Mendelssohn (1835 to 1847). The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" was founded in 1843. The Oper Leipzig , one of the most prominent opera houses in Germany, was founded in 1693. During a stay in Gohlis , which

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660-617: Is the eighth-largest city in Germany and is part of the Central German Metropolitan Region . The name of the city is usually interpreted as a Slavic term meaning place of linden trees , in line with many other Slavic placenames in the region. Leipzig is located about 150 km (90 mi) southwest of Berlin, in the southernmost part of the North German Plain (the Leipzig Bay ), at

715-925: Is the part of the North European Plain in Germany. The city sits on the White Elster , a river that rises in the Czech Republic and flows into the Saale south of Halle. The Pleiße and the Parthe join the White Elster in Leipzig, and the large inland delta-like landscape the three rivers form is called Leipziger Gewässerknoten . The site is characterized by swampy areas such as the Leipzig Riparian Forest ( Leipziger Auenwald ), though there are also some limestone areas to

770-497: The East German government . The reunification of Germany , however, was at first not good for Leipzig. The centrally planned heavy industry that had become the city's specialty was, in terms of the advanced economy of reunited Germany, almost completely unviable, and closed. Within only six years, 90% of jobs in industry had vanished. As unemployment rocketed, the population fell dramatically; some 100,000 people left Leipzig in

825-655: The Heffter Research Center at the University of Zurich , where one of the board members, Dr. Franz Vollenweider is the principal investigator. One of these studies found that psilocybin inhibits the processing of negative emotions in the brain. Arthur Heffter Arthur Carl Wilhelm Heffter (15 June 1859, in Leipzig – 8 February 1925, in Berlin ) was a German pharmacologist and chemist. He

880-538: The Internal Revenue Service in 1994. The first decade of research primarily focused on the mechanisms of action and effects of MDMA , along with clinical studies on ketamine treatment for Heroin addiction in Russia . The institute also funded several small fellowships for young scientists. Since the turn of the century, the institute's work has focused primarily on psilocybin, including funding

935-638: The Nazi government officially renamed the city Reichsmessestadt Leipzig (Reich Trade Fair City Leipzig). In 1989 Leipzig was dubbed a Hero City ( Heldenstadt ), alluding to the honorary title awarded in the former Soviet Union to certain cities that played a key role in the victory of the Allies during the Second World War, in recognition of the role that the Monday demonstrations there played in

990-805: The Nuremberg Laws . However, due to the Leipzig Trade Fair and the international attention it garnered, Leipzig was especially cautious about its public image. Despite this, the Leipzig authorities were not afraid to strictly apply and enforce anti-semitic measures. On 20 December 1937, after the Nazis took control of the city, they renamed it Reichsmessestadt Leipzig, meaning the "Imperial Trade Fair City Leipzig". In early 1938, Leipzig saw an increase in Zionism through Jewish citizens. Many of these Zionists attempted to flee before deportations began. On 28 October 1938, Heinrich Himmler ordered

1045-734: The Potsdam Agreement . In the mid-20th century, the city's trade fair assumed renewed importance as a point of contact with the Comecon Eastern Europe economic bloc, of which East Germany was a member. At this time, trade fairs were held at a site in the south of the city, near the Monument to the Battle of the Nations . The planned economy of the German Democratic Republic, however, was not kind to Leipzig. Before

1100-494: The American Consulate was closed, and its building became a temporary place of stay for Americans and Allied refugees from Serbia , Romania and Japan . During the 1930s and 1940s, music was prominent throughout Leipzig. Many students attended Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy College of Music and Theatre (then named Landeskonservatorium.) However, in 1944, it was closed due to World War II . It re-opened soon after

1155-591: The Leipzig-Thekla subcamp who were unable to march were either burned alive, shot or beaten to death by the Gestapo, SS , Volkssturm and German civilians in the Abtnaundorf massacre. Some were rescued by Polish forced laborers of another camp; at least 67 people survived. 84 victims were buried on 27 April 1945, however, the total number of victims remains unknown. During World War II, Leipzig

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1210-704: The Polish Consulate and its library. In 1941, the American Consulate was also closed by order of the German authorities. During the war, Leipzig was the location of five subcamps of the Buchenwald concentration camp , in which over 8,000 men, women and children were imprisoned, mostly Polish, Jewish, Soviet and French, but also Italian, Czech and Belgian. In April 1945, most surviving prisoners were sent on death marches to various destinations in Saxony and German-occupied Czechoslovakia , whereas prisoners of

1265-642: The Rich . Leipzig Trade Fair , started in the Middle Ages , has become an event of international importance and is the oldest surviving trade fair in the world. This encouraged the growth of the Leipzig merchant bourgeoisie . There are records of commercial fishing operations on the river Pleiße that, most likely, refer to Leipzig dating back to 1305, when the Margrave Dietrich the Younger granted

1320-459: The Second World War, Leipzig had developed a mixture of industry, creative business (notably publishing), and services (including legal services). During the period of the German Democratic Republic, services became the concern of the state, concentrated in East Berlin ; creative business moved to West Germany ; and Leipzig was left only with heavy industry. To make matters worse, this industry

1375-486: The Swedish-led side. On 24 December 1701, when Franz Conrad Romanus was mayor, an oil-fueled street lighting system was introduced. The city employed light guards who had to follow a specific schedule to ensure the punctual lighting of the 700 lanterns. The Leipzig region was the arena of the 1813 Battle of Leipzig between Napoleonic France and an allied coalition of Prussia , Russia , Austria and Sweden. It

1430-572: The buildings hit, a firestorm occurred. This prompted firefighters to rush to the city; however, they were unable to control the fires. Unlike the firebombing of the neighbouring city of Dresden , this was a largely conventional bombing with high explosives rather than incendiaries. The resultant pattern of loss was a patchwork, rather than wholesale loss of its centre, but was nevertheless extensive. The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Leipzig in late April 1945. The U.S. 2nd Infantry Division and U.S. 69th Infantry Division fought their way into

1485-499: The centrepiece of the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland ( S-Bahn Central Germany ) public transit system, Germany's largest S-Bahn network, with a system length of 802 km (498 mi). Leipzig has long been a major centre for music, including classical and modern dark wave . The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig), a boys' choir, was founded in 1212. The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra , established in 1743,

1540-588: The city on 18 April and completed its capture after fierce urban action, in which fighting was often house-to-house and block-to-block, on 19 April 1945. In April 1945, the Mayor of Leipzig, SS- Gruppenführer Alfred Freyberg , his wife and daughter, together with Deputy Mayor and City Treasurer Ernest Kurt Lisso, his wife, daughter and Volkssturm Major and former Mayor Walter Dönicke, all committed suicide in Leipzig City Hall. The United States turned

1595-524: The city over to the Red Army as it pulled back from the line of contact with Soviet forces in July 1945 to the designated occupation zone boundaries. Leipzig became one of the major cities of the German Democratic Republic ( East Germany ). Following the end of World War II in 1945, Leipzig saw a slow return of Jews to the city. They were joined by large numbers of German refugees who had been expelled from Central and Eastern Europe in accordance with

1650-498: The city. Another, somewhat old-fashioned epithet is Pleiß-Athen ( Athens on the Pleiße River ), hinting at Leipzig's long academic and literary tradition, as the seat of one of the oldest German universities and a centre of the book trade. It is also referred to as "Little Paris" ( Klein-Paris ) after Johann Wolfgang Goethe 's Faust I , which is partly set in the famous Leipzig restaurant Auerbachs Keller . In 1937

1705-459: The confluence of the White Elster and its tributaries Pleiße and Parthe , that form an extensive inland delta in the city known as Leipziger Gewässerknoten  [ de ] , along which Leipzig Riverside Forest , Europe's largest intra-city riparian forest has developed. Leipzig is at the centre of Neuseenland ( new lake district ), consisting of several artificial lakes created from former lignite open-pit mines . Leipzig has been

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1760-589: The deportation of Polish Jews from Leipzig to Poland. The Polish Consulate sheltered 1,300 Polish Jews, preventing their deportation. On 9 November 1938, as part of Kristallnacht , in Gottschedstrasse , synagogues and businesses were set on fire. Only a couple of days later, on 11 November 1938, many Jews in the Leipzig area were deported to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. As World War II came to an end, much of Leipzig

1815-638: The eastern one for the Royal Saxon State Railways and the western one for the Prussian state railways . In the 19th century, Leipzig was a centre of the German and Saxon liberal movements. The first German labor party , the General German Workers' Association ( Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein , ADAV) was founded in Leipzig on 23 May 1863 by Ferdinand Lassalle ; about 600 workers from across Germany travelled to

1870-467: The fall of the East German regime. More recently, the city has sometimes been nicknamed Hypezig , the "Boomtown of eastern Germany", or "The better Berlin" ( Das bessere Berlin ) and is celebrated by the media as a hip urban centre for its vibrant lifestyle and creative scene with many startups . Leipzig is located in the Leipzig Bay , the southernmost part of the North German Plain , which

1925-431: The first psychedelic treatment study in the U.S. in decades, treating obsessive-compulsive disorder with psilocybin at the University of Arizona . This study coincided with a number of neuroscience studies of psilocybin and a focus on treating anxiety and depression in cancer patients with psilocybin and addictions. The current board of directors consists of seven scientists and five Philanthropists . Dr. Nichols remains

1980-541: The fishing rights to the church and convent of St Thomas. There were a number of monasteries in and around the city, including a Franciscan monastery after which the Barfußgäßchen (Barefoot Alley) is named and a monastery of Irish monks ( Jacobskirche , destroyed in 1544) near the present day Ranstädter Steinweg (the old Via Regia ). The University of Leipzig was founded in 1409 and Leipzig developed into an important centre of German law and of

2035-546: The foundation on the new railway. Leipzig expanded rapidly to more than 700,000 inhabitants. Huge Gründerzeit areas were built, which mostly survived both war and post-war demolition. With the opening of a fifth production hall in 1907, the Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei became the largest cotton mill company on the continent, housing over 240,000 spindles. Yearly production surpassed 5 million kilograms of yarn. During World War I , in 1917,

2090-524: The intersection of the ancient roads known as the Via Regia (King's highway), which traversed Germany in an east–west direction, and the Via Imperii (Imperial highway), a north–south road. Leipzig was a walled city in the Middle Ages and the current "ring" road around the historic centre of the city follows the line of the old city walls. Since 1992 Leipzig has been divided administratively into ten Stadtbezirke (boroughs), which in turn contain

2145-407: The north of the city. The landscape is mostly flat, though there is also some evidence of moraine and drumlins . Although there are some forest parks within the city limits, the area surrounding Leipzig is relatively unforested. During the 20th century, there were several open-pit mines in the region, many of which have been converted to lakes. Also see: Neuseenland Leipzig is also situated at

2200-454: The original Slavic name of the city has been reconstructed as *Lipьsko , which is also reflected in similar forms in neighbouring modern Slavic languages (Sorbian/Polish Lipsk , Czech Lipsko ). This has, however, been questioned by more recent onomastic research based on the very oldest forms like Libzi (c. 1015). Due to the etymology mentioned above, Lindenstadt or Stadt der Linden (City of Linden Trees) are common poetic epithets for

2255-463: The point where Nazi officials were strong enough to evict the Jews from their own homes. They also had the power to force many of the Jews living in the city to sell their houses. Many people who sold their homes emigrated elsewhere, outside of Leipzig. Others moved to Judenhäuser, which were smaller houses that acted as ghettos, housing large groups of people. The Jews of Leipzig were greatly affected by

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2310-431: The president, with George Greer, M.D. as the medical director and Lynette Herring as the business manager. The institute has provided funding for more than 80 Scientific publications concerned with psychedelic drug research. One supported research study found that a single dose of psilocybin significantly reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms in cancer patients. The institute then funded two larger clinical trials of

2365-505: The press to support local and state militias, patriotic wartime mobilization, humanitarian relief and postwar commemorative practices and rituals. When it was made a terminus of the first German long-distance railway to Dresden (the capital of Saxony) in 1839, Leipzig became a hub of Central European railway traffic, with Leipzig Hauptbahnhof the largest terminal station by area in Europe. The railway station has two grand entrance halls,

2420-692: The publishing industry in Germany, resulting, in the 19th and 20th centuries, with the Reichsgericht (Imperial Court of Justice) and the German National Library being located here. During the Thirty Years' War , two battles took place in Breitenfeld , about 8 km (5 mi) outside Leipzig city walls. The first Battle of Breitenfeld took place in 1631 and the second in 1642. Both battles resulted in victories for

2475-645: The remaining 18 Jews still in Leipzig were deported from Leipzig to Auschwitz. According to records of the two waves of deportations to Auschwitz there were no survivors. According to records of the Theresienstadt deportation, only 53 Jews survived. During the German invasion of Poland at the start of World War II , in September 1939, the Gestapo carried out arrests of prominent local Poles , and seized

2530-536: The same treatment at New York University and Johns Hopkins University , which is expected to be published in 2016. Following that, the institute will be supporting an FDA Phase 3 study as a step toward gaining FDA approval of psilocybin for the treatment of anxiety and depression in cancer patients. Five scientific articles on Heffter-supported treatment of addictions with psilocybin have been published. Two recent small pilot studies on alcohol and smoking addiction showed significant positive results. As of early 2016,

2585-476: The time, psychedelic research had been dormant for approximately 20 years and was not eligible to receive government funding, necessitating private funding to restart the field. The institute was created to secure the private funding and to evaluate research projects for their scientific merit. The institute was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in New Mexico , and received its 501(c)(3) designation from

2640-906: The transport infrastructure. Leipzig is home to one of the oldest universities in Europe ( Leipzig University ). It is the main seat of the German National Library (the second is Frankfurt ), the seat of the German Music Archive , as well as of the German Federal Administrative Court . Leipzig Zoo is one of the most modern zoos in Europe and as of 2018 ranks first in Germany and second in Europe. Leipzig's late-19th-century Gründerzeit architecture consists of around 12,500 buildings. The city's central railway terminus Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is, at 83,460 square metres (898,400 sq ft), Europe's largest railway station measured by floor area. Since Leipzig City Tunnel came into operation in 2013, it has formed

2695-413: The war ended in 1945. On 22 May 1930, Carl Friedrich Goerdeler was elected mayor of Leipzig. He later became an opponent of the Nazi regime . He resigned in 1937 when, in his absence, his Nazi deputy ordered the destruction of the city's statue of Felix Mendelssohn . On Kristallnacht in 1938, the 1855 Moorish Revival Leipzig synagogue , one of the city's most architecturally significant buildings,

2750-479: Was repeatedly struck by Allied bombing raids , beginning in 1943 and lasting until 1945. The first raid occurred on the morning of 4 December 1943, when 442 bombers of the Royal Air Force (RAF) dropped a total amount of almost 1,400 tons of explosives and incendiaries on the city, destroying large parts of the city centre. This bombing was the largest up to that time. Due to the close proximity of many of

2805-587: Was deliberately destroyed. Goerdeler was later executed by the Nazis on 2 February 1945. Several thousand forced labourers were stationed in Leipzig during the Second World War. Beginning in 1933, many Jewish citizens of Leipzig were members of the Gemeinde , a large Jewish religious community spread throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In October 1935, the Gemeinde helped found the Lehrhaus (English:

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2860-614: Was destroyed. Following the war, the Communist Party of Germany provided aid for the reconstruction of the city. In 1933, a census recorded that over 11,000 Jews were living in Leipzig. In the 1939 census, the number had fallen to roughly 4,500, and by January 1942 only 2,000 remained. In that month, these 2,000 Jews began to be deported. On 13 July 1942, 170 Jews were deported from Leipzig to Auschwitz concentration camp . On 19 September 1942, 440 Jews were deported from Leipzig to Theresienstadt concentration camp . On 18 June 1943,

2915-402: Was extremely polluting, making Leipzig an even less attractive city to live in. Between 1950 and the end of the German Democratic Republic, the population of Leipzig fell from 600,000 to 500,000. In October 1989, after prayers for peace at St. Nicholas Church , established in 1983 as part of the peace movement, the Monday demonstrations started as the most prominent mass protest against

2970-504: Was the first chairman of the German Society of Pharmacologists, and was largely responsible for the first Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology . He isolated mescaline from the peyote cactus in 1897, the first such isolation of a naturally occurring psychedelic substance in pure form. In addition, he conducted experiments on its effects by comparing the effects of peyote and mescaline on himself. This article about

3025-585: Was the largest battle in Europe before the First World War and the coalition victory ended Napoleon 's presence in Germany and would ultimately lead to his first exile on Elba . The Monument to the Battle of the Nations celebrating the centenary of this event was completed in 1913. In addition to stimulating German nationalism, the war had a major impact in mobilizing a civic spirit in numerous volunteer activities. Many volunteer militias and civic associations were formed, and collaborated with churches and

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