The paper by Joukamaa et al (2006, this issue) would haveinterested Heinz Lehmann, a German émigré psychiatrist working at Verdunhospital in Montreal, who was one of the first clinicians to investigate theeffects of chlorpromazine in North America and was the first to publish anarticle outlining its clinical impact (Lehmann & Hanrahan, 1954).Lehmann was no simple enthusiast for physical treatments, havingdemonstrated that mute and deteriorated people with schizophrenia inVerdun's back wards responded to placebo injections of ‘new experimentalhormones' when the injection site was painted with a disinfectant that lefta prominent red stain (Lehmann, 1993). However, chlorpromazine wasdifferent. Although previous treatments had provided some benefits, nothingproduced quite such dramatic effects in the experience of senior researcherssuch as Lehmann. Chlorpromazine ignited a wave of enthusiasm in psychiatrysufficient to sweep aside post-War differences between the Germans and theFrench, for instance, so that they and others convened to share theirexperiences on the benefits of the new drugs at international meetingsrapidly organised by university departments rather than pharmaceuticalcompanies.