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.He andDruce had come all this way to ask Hitchcock for funding to start their company, not to sit ina car with two men talking about God knows what.Druce shared offices in London with another company whose owner held a half-interest inhis business.Craze had come over from Exico, where Druce had once bought his LSD, towork for the man on legitimate chemicals business.Like Druce, who started in business at ahumble level, Ron Craze was on the look-out for new business opportunities, and seized onthe idea for a specialist firm which would sell feed to developing countries by a totally newmethod.The problem was finance.Druce came into the discussions, holding out thepossibility that American contacts might just have the money needed.He could buy up theother interest in his firm, turn it over to what would become Alban Feeds and set up a newcompany which would deal in specialist chemicals.The two companies would be interrelatedthrough holdings.The contacts Druce had in mind were Scully and, through him, Hitchcock.Approached withthe idea of Alban Feeds, the millionaire felt that a small investment could be an inducementto Druce to maintain the supply of base materials for LSD.Druce and Craze, who claims hewas in the dark about the other side of Druce's contacts, were summoned to San Francisco,fares paid by Hitchcock, to discuss the matter.In the pleasant summer heat of San Francisco, the two Englishmen were whisked out of thecity to Sausalito and Hitchcock's home.But after the prompting to fly over, there seemed nourgency to do business.Everything was low key, although people took great care whencoming and going, as though they expected to be followed.Hitchcock himself wasconstantly on the telephone to New York, playing the market, checking on sharemovements.Druce was impressed by him, but otherwise bored.The two Englishmen wereleft to watch TV most of the day.One evening, they were taken into San Francisco for ameal which ended with a visit to someone's friends who seemed to live in a bare house withboarded doors.After climbing through the window, Craze was introduced to a group of rockmusicians.Back at the Hitchcock home, there was still no news of the $5,000 needed forAlban Feeds.However, Craze had finally realized that things were not quite what theyseemed.Sand expatiated on the virtues of creating a better world with LSD.Craze listenedpolitely as the chemist told him that any ordinary illness could be tackled and cured throughthe mind; Sand wanted to set up a clinic in Switzerland.Scully told the Englishman that ifLSD were put into water supplies, there would be no more war.62 On the last night they got down to business. There were not more than five of usaltogether, said Druce. There was the usual thing about quality but that was their problemin production. Druce realized Sand was the chemist. I got the impression they werefragmented.Guys with the money on one side and guys with the laboratory on the other. As far as money was concerned, Druce had a rough idea they could earn five to six milliondollars.I was not worried, providing it was done in the United States.It was a strictlybusiness proposition. The money would be forthcoming for Alban Feeds, while Druce wouldset about supplying raw materials.He took home with him, according to Craze, a shopping list of chemicals written on the backof one of his catalogues.Druce was also commissioned to check comparative prices, andback in London began sending out requests to companies for their catalogues to pass on tothe United States.Soon after the San Francisco trip, Hitchcock, Sand and Scully arrived in London to finalizematters.Druce said he was told they wanted as much raw material as possible, every, threeor four months.According to Scully, Druce was left with orders for 5 kilos of lysergic acidand 10-20 kilos of ergotamine tartrate
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