- Nicholas Sand died from a heart attack at his California home on April 24 aged 75
- He was an outlaw chemist who rose to infamy in the 60s creating large batches of his 'Orange Sunshine' brand of LSD
- Sand was responsible for manufacturing more than 250 million doses of acid
- He believed he could make the world peaceful if everyone took psychedelics
- Sand was born in New York but later moved to San Francisco where he ran an LSD lab with his partner in crime Tim Scully
- They were both jailed in 1973 and Sand later went on the run for 20 years
The New York-born son of a Soviet spy is believed to have been responsible for manufacturing more than 250 million doses of pure LSD across the United States during his notorious and lengthy career.
He passed away in his sleep after suffering a heart attack at his home in Lagunitas, California on April 24, according to the New York Times.
Sand had become a cult figure in the late 1960s with his highly popular signature 'Orange Sunshine' brand of acid.
Nicholas Sand, an outlaw chemist who rose to infamy creating large batches of LSD in the 1960s, died last month at his home in California aged 75
He had taught himself chemistry and first embarked on his chemical career by making hallucinogen drug, dimethyltryptamine, in a self-built lab in his mother's New York attic when he was just 20.
After taking his first dose of LSD in New York back when it was still legal, Sand had set out believing he could change and save the world with psychedelics.
'My first experience with taking acid changed everything... I was floating in this immense black space,' he said in a 2015 documentary about his life, The Sunshine Makers.
'I said, 'What am I doing here?' And suddenly a voice came through my body, and it said, 'Your job on this planet is to make psychedelics and turn on the world'.'
Sand later moved to San Francisco where his partner in crime, Nick Scully, taught him how to make LSD.
They ran their manufacturing operation together in a lab in Windsor, north of San Francisco, from 1967 and planned on producing 750 million doses of acid - the exact amount they decided would create a psychedelic revolution and change the world for the better.
Sand (left in 2009 and right in the 60s) was responsible for manufacturing more than 250 million doses of pure LSD across the United States during his notorious and lengthy career
Sand moved from New York to San Francisco in the late 60s where his partner in crime, Nick Scully, taught him how to make LSD. They ran their manufacturing operation together in a lab from 1967 until they were both arrested in the early 70s
The man behind the 60s LSD revolution dies aged 75: Son of a Soviet spy made 250m doses of 'Orange Sunshine' after a voice told him 'your job on this planet is to turn on the world'
- Nicholas Sand died from a heart attack at his California home on April 24 aged 75
- He was an outlaw chemist who rose to infamy in the 60s creating large batches of his 'Orange Sunshine' brand of LSD
- Sand was responsible for manufacturing more than 250 million doses of acid
- He believed he could make the world peaceful if everyone took psychedelics
- Sand was born in New York but later moved to San Francisco where he ran an LSD lab with his partner in crime Tim Scully
- They were both jailed in 1973 and Sand later went on the run for 20 years
Published: 05:05 BST, 13 May 2017 | Updated: 06:44 BST, 13 May 2017
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Nicholas Sand, an outlaw chemist who rose to infamy creating large batches of LSD in the 1960s, has died in California aged 75.
The New York-born son of a Soviet spy is believed to have been responsible for manufacturing more than 250 million doses of pure LSD across the United States during his notorious and lengthy career.
He passed away in his sleep after suffering a heart attack at his home in Lagunitas, California on April 24, according to the New York Times.
Sand had become a cult figure in the late 1960s with his highly popular signature 'Orange Sunshine' brand of acid.
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Nicholas Sand, an outlaw chemist who rose to infamy creating large batches of LSD in the 1960s, died last month at his home in California aged 75
He had taught himself chemistry and first embarked on his chemical career by making hallucinogen drug, dimethyltryptamine, in a self-built lab in his mother's New York attic when he was just 20.
After taking his first dose of LSD in New York back when it was still legal, Sand had set out believing he could change and save the world with psychedelics.
'My first experience with taking acid changed everything... I was floating in this immense black space,' he said in a 2015 documentary about his life, The Sunshine Makers.
'I said, 'What am I doing here?' And suddenly a voice came through my body, and it said, 'Your job on this planet is to make psychedelics and turn on the world'.'
Sand later moved to San Francisco where his partner in crime, Nick Scully, taught him how to make LSD.
They ran their manufacturing operation together in a lab in Windsor, north of San Francisco, from 1967 and planned on producing 750 million doses of acid - the exact amount they decided would create a psychedelic revolution and change the world for the better.
Sand (left in 2009 and right in the 60s) was responsible for manufacturing more than 250 million doses of pure LSD across the United States during his notorious and lengthy career
Sand moved from New York to San Francisco in the late 60s where his partner in crime, Nick Scully, taught him how to make LSD. They ran their manufacturing operation together in a lab from 1967 until they were both arrested in the early 70s
They created four million doses of the acid in just one month and a hippie, drug-taking group known as The Brotherhood of Eternal Love helped distribute it.
Sand was so invested in his so-called cause that he even made sure his celebrated Orange Sunshine was available to US soldiers fighting in Vietnam with the hope of steering them towards non-violence.
'If we could turn on everyone in the world then maybe we'd have a new world of peace and love,' Sand recalled in the documentary.
But their time was short-lived after Federal agents started investigating them. They were indicted by a Federal grand jury in San Francisco over the LSD operation in April 1973.
They were both found guilty the following year - Sand was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Scully got a 20-year sentence.
After Sand was briefly released from prison in 1976, he fled to Canada where he spent 20 years on the run while still making LSD. He featured in a 2015 documentary, The Sunshine Makers, about his notorious career
They created four million doses of the acid in just one month and a hippie, drug-taking group known as The Brotherhood of Eternal Love helped distribute it
When Tim Scully (above) was released from prison in the early 1980s, he got a job in Silicon Valley in computer work. He retired in the early 2000s
Sand used his time in prison to smuggle LSD into for other prisoners.
The pair were released on bail for a short time in 1976 while their cases were heard in an appeals court, but Sand quickly fled to Canada after they lost.
He spent the next 20 years on the run under an alias as he continued to make LSD. Sand was arrested in the 1990s for drug manufacturing but authorities failed to identify him as the notorious Nicholas Sand.
His true identity was eventually revealed and he served six years in prison in the United States. Sand was released in 2000 and moved to Ecuador.
When Scully was released from prison in the early 1980s, he got a job in Silicon Valley in computer work.
The pair both featured in The Sunshine Makers documentary about their life as underground chemists.
