Nicholas Sand

Nicholas Sand (born Nicholas Francis Hiskey; May 10, 1941 – April 24, 2017) was an American advocate of the use of psychedelic drugs. He became cult figure as a clandestine chemist for the Brotherhood of Eternal Love. Sand was part of the League for Spiritual Discovery at the Millbrook estate in New York, has been credited as the "first underground chemist on record to have synthesized DMT" and is known for manufacturing large amounts of LSD. Sand was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on May 10, 1941. His father, Clarence Hiskey, was a researcher in the Manhattan Project's Metallurgical Laboratory who attempted to spy for the Soviet Union. After his parents divorced, Sand took his mother's maiden name. Sand graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in 1959 and then spent a year working on a kibbutz in Israel. He graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in anthropology and sociology in 1966. Sand became interested in the teachings of George Gurdjieff, the study of different cultures, and various Eastern philosophers. In 1961, he had his first mescaline experience.