LSD: An Analysis

The primary drug user in the 1960s was the male college student involved in politics. Richard Flacks states "The increasingly common use of marijuana and psychedelic and mood-manipulating drugs on college campuses and among youth in general needs no documentation."8 Lance Christie, a drug researcher, said "A student who bought into the drug culture in the 1960s was buying into an elitist high-performance group."9

In 1966 a new rock developed,this was known as san fransisco rock,or psychedelic rock. It was associated with the use of hallucinogenic drugs, including LSD, and Marijuana. there were psychedelic art and light shows, and

Rock and roll helped break many people out of the pre-war mindset and into a new, fresh one. Although many adults detested rock, the younger generation felt that it symbolized a break from the war and the “age of anxiety” that the previous World War had caused. In addition, it promoted a promiscuous lifestyle that celebrated sex and drugs. Rock and roll seemed to be associated with this because many of the “rock stars” endorsed in a loose and laidback standard of living. Because many of the performers practiced recreational drug use, followers felt compelled to do so as well, feeling that that way of life was acceptable. Rock and roll was thought to be outlandish, primarily because of the performers’ gyrating and grinding of their hips, their suggestive lyrics, and rebellious undertones that provoked erotic senses in teenagers and upset parents. Rock and roll was said to establish a sense of identity and power in teenagers, mostly because of the new energy that came from the new style of music. Rock music was seen as satanic by the older generation because it seemed to lead to the

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide or LSD is a hallucinogenic drug that can be taken orally, injected or even absorbed through the skin. Once LSD has entered the body, it starts to take effects on the levels of serotonin in the brain which can cause; hallucinations, mood change, and even sensory distortion. After taking LSD, the effects on the brain usually last from 6 to 9 hours depending on multiple factors; the dosage of LSD taken, the subject taking LSD, and even the user 's mood can affect the duration of LSD use. LSD is a non-lethal, non-addictive, and a non-habit forming drug that has little to no effect on the long-term health of an individual. However, LSD has been illegal since the 1960 's. Not only did availability of LSD become scarce with the criminalization of the substance, but the legislation also put a halt on the research of the chemical as well. Much of the way LSD interacts with the brain has been left unknown. This derivative from the rye fungus Ergot has been the source of controversy that has left many people wondering why LSD has been classified as a drug that is just as dangerous to use as heroin. It becomes difficult for an individual to understand how legislation could criminalize a chemical without completely understanding how it functions and affects people. LSD should be legalized for scientific, medical and recreational usage.

2. The mood of the “Beat Generation’ is best reflected in which Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.

In the summer of 1969, a music festival known as “Woodstock” took place for three straight days in Upstate, New York with thirty-two musical acts playing, and over 400,000 people from around the world coming to join this musical and peaceful movement. Woodstock started out being a small concert, created to promote peace in the world. Now, Woodstock is still being celebrated over 40 years later. This three day music festival represented the perfect concert for the “baby boomers” during a messy political time. Woodstock significantly impacted the counterculture era of the 1960’s in a number of ways; how it began, the ideas of the concert, the sense of union and love it represented and it

“The rise of rock ‘n’ roll and the reception of it, in fact, can tell us a lot about the culture and values of the United States in the 1950s. According to historians James Gilbert, there was a struggle throughout the decade ‘over the uses of popular culture to determine who would speak to what audience, and for what purpose”. At the center of that struggle, rock ‘n’ roll unsettled a nation had been “living in an ‘age of anxiety’” since 1945” (p.15). Altschuler talks about how music and race interlock with one another. Rock had become a “highly visible and contested arena for struggles over racial identity and cultural and economic empowerment in the United States” (p.35). Other chapters within the book state the battles involving sexuality, generational conflicts, as well as other social issues. The author states ideas that are somewhat problematic. For example, he states that there is a myth that rock ‘n’ roll went into a “lull” following the payola hearings (the practice of record promoters paying DJs or radio programmers to play their labels ' songs) of 1959 and did not come about again until the arrival of the Beatles in 1964.

Every memory of the summer of 1969 is connected to, in one way or another, the historical event, Woodstock. The festival could not have left more of an impact on the “hippie” generation anymore than it did those three days of music and peace. The generation of the time wanted nothing more than what they got out of Woodstock. Today, people still look back on the festival and think of how well it made history without the expectance of doing so. Woodstock, one of the most important cultural events of the 20th century, combined iconic musical acts with interesting social behavior.

Beginning with the late 1960’s counterculture in San Francisco, music and drugs will forever be inter-linked. Hippie bands such as the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, and Phish are associated with marijuana, mushrooms, and LSD. Modern electronic “rave” , or club music is associated with MDMA or Ecstasy. When one thinks of rock and roll, sex and drugs immediately come to mind. While the use of drugs is not essential for the creation or performance of all new music, it was certainly in important factor for the counterculture music of the late 1960’s. While some of the most important and influential music was made with the help of psychoactive drugs, it was often to the detriment of the artist. Janis

When hear the name Merry Pranksters what comes to your mind? Let me guess a group of young individuals dressed in a joker costume running around throwing water balloons from roof tops or shaking hands with strangers to taze them. Merry Pranksters were not exactly known for doing that, but they were group of young adults who did pranks with LSD. For instance, they mixed LSD in a bowl of Kool-Aid in their parties to get their guests high and this was known as Electric Kool-Aid Test. “In the 1960s, heroes of the counterculture -- Timothy Leary, Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters, the Beatles and the Grateful Dead -- embraced the practice of dropping acid, viewing it as a great way to party and as the path to a higher consciousness” (Ross). At the same time, in the sixties violence was prevalent from Vietnam War, to protesters rebelling against the government and U.S. was at a brink of starting World War 3 with the Soviet Union. As a result, this made the American people pessimistic about their future, so they began to take LSD and drugs. We can see things in today’s culture that were partially inspired by the Merry Pranksters, such as using LSD in order to be connect with the self, two distinct groups of LSD users and the revival of psychedelic movement.

In 1966 Great Britain, several art forms began to spring up within the LSD subculture, and music and art were being produced and performed. As Andy Roberts puts states, the environment “was being created by LSD users for the LSD user.” [18] Most musicians and artist used LSD to open up creative pathways for writing and creating art and used lyrics and artwork to express their rebellious and dissatisfaction with the government. LSD was common among psychedelic rock artists such as The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead among others; this helped in increasing the popularity of LSD during the 1960s. Musicians in America were writing songs about social protest and anti-war, due to roaring voices of the youth expressing

This novel, which originally started out to be a novel discussing Ken Kesey’s (author of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest) life as a fugitive wanted for drug possession living in Mexico, from there developed into this “journal” of Kesey’s band, the Merry Pranksters, and their tripped out adventures. 8) One of the most outstanding features of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is the simplicity of it to read. The journal style writing Wolfe used allows the reader to be absorbed into the LSD fantasy world the Pranksters were living in. Also, Wolfe’s meticulous attention to detail adds to this effect and carries out his thesis of re-creating the atmosphere in which these acidheads existed. 9) Although it provides and interesting documentation through the use of journal form writing, Wolfe probably failed English class due to the multitude of fragments and disregarded sentences. (This may have also been a “trippy” effect, too.) Another disappointment is in the author’s note; Wolfe tells how much of the book was written through the use of viewing film. It takes away from the first hand experience developed and slightly challenges the authenticity of the material. But, it’s only a disappointment if you actually read the author’s note. 10) The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is a must read, but not in lieu of it being a well-developed literary masterpiece.

The author is a young man who obliviously is not self-effacing about his own usage and enjoyment of drugs. He used LSD, which in the fall of 2001 he realized that he had not seen the drug in ages and it was nowhere to be found; not for others or even for himself and statistics showed the decrease of the acid and its usage also. Dissatisfied with the situation He went to see his friend, Professor Peter Reuter who is a

The turning point for the new music came when the group Led Zeppelin was formed. As the book "Hammer of the Gods" points out, the members of this group were constantly high on every kind of drug imaginable. When they toured, they vandalized hotel rooms, throwing TV sets and furniture into the streets. Very young girls were tied up and sodomized, group members taking turns, and a photographer from Life magazine, assigned to photograph Led Zeppelin as they toured, was nearly raped by band members in a hotel room. Yet Led Zeppelin became the most popular group of its time. In fact, a whole generation was raised on its music. Throughout the 1970s, the music of Led Zeppelin was the anthem of American high school kids.

Following the journey of Kesey, Tom Wolfe demonstrates how the drug led to his preliminary ideas, breaking away from society, forming cults based on the taking of psychedelic drugs, most important of which was LSD. Kesey’s acid tests quickly became the counterculture style, Wolfe details the strobe lighting, dayglow face paint and bizarre commentary that allowed those involved to ‘freak freely’. It was these acid tests that were key in forming the counterculture. Students in California quickly took to copying Kesey’s acid tests and eventually became popularized as more and more student were trying LSD after hearing about the experience their peers had on the drug. A reasonable estimate to the growth in the counterculture is the size of the Human Be-In Festival on January 14th 1967, where some 30,000 attended the festival which was a countercultural gathering, focussing largely on