Janiger is responsible for "turning on" many well-known literary figures and Hollywood celebrities in the late fifties and early sixties, when LSD was legal. In the late eighties,  he founded the Albert Hofman Foundation, whose purpose is to establish a world information center dedicated to the scientific study of human consciousness. Jeanne St. Peter and David Jay Brown spoke to Oscar about his scientific research, creativity and psychopathology, and his discovery of the psycho-active effects of isolated DMT.

A number of researchers think that salvinorin A, the potent dissociative psychedelic compound found in this perennial herb from Oaxaca, may have applications as an antidepressant, an analgesic, and as a therapeutic tool for treating drug addictions, some types of stroke, and Alzheimer's Disease.

Psychedelics are back in the labs, where researchers hope to develop treatments for chronic depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and drug and alcohol dependency.