LSD an the Sixties Generation

The time: the 1960s. The place: United States of America. Who? The youth. Doing what? Using drugs. Why? Many reasons. The 1960s proved to be a very turbulent time in the history of American youth growing up. There were many different activist movements all over the country. The primary drug user was the male college student involved in politics. He used mostly marijuana, some cocaine or LSD and of course alcohol. The sixites culminated with perhaps the biggest public scene of drug use ever: Woodstock. American youth in the sixties turned to drugs for a variety of reasons including the Vietnam War, the feeling of rebellion, activist movements, and the general pleasure-oriented society.

In the sixties, the psychedelic music scene was at its prime and the world was full of hippie musicians that loved to drop acid and create some of the most interesting and innovative music known to man. During this time, drugs were a very popular part of the hippie culture and the prevalence of LSD helped to create the distinct genre of psychedelic music known as psychedelic or acid rock. Many bands and artists such as Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, The Beatles, and The Byrds were heavily influenced by LSD, which led to the creation of some very popular music. This decade was full of adventure, music, sex, and drugs, and it was all made possible due to this powerfully trippy drug.

The consequences of a drug does not only affect the user it affects the community around also. Even escalate from one community to another. The website lsdabusehelp.com explains about the problems it causes. To put in short:

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.

Throughout human history people have sought experiences that somehow transcend every day life. Some sort of wisdom that might progress their knowledge of self and of the world that they live in. For some reason they believed that the tangible world just could not be all there is to life. Some believed in a greater force that controlled them, some believed of invisible beings that influenced their lives, some of an actual other world that paralleled their own. Many of these people also believed that it was possible to catch a glimpse of these forces, beings, or worlds through a variety of means that propel individuals into altered states of consciousness. These techniques include

Since the 20th century, many medical professionals and researchers have been attempting to utilize psychedelic drugs in psychological illnesses treatments. In many testing cases, these psychedelic drugs were having hallucination effects on the patients. For examples, psychedelic drugs such as LSD and methoxamine are capable of changing a person’s moods, feelings, or even behaviors in either positive or negative ways. However, after decades of restriction on psychedelic drugs in 1960s, hallucinogens have been researched constantly in order to find a proper ways to utilize them in medicine. In other words, medical experts have been testing these drugs occasionally on patients, raising questions about medical ethics as a result. For instance, various patients reported to experience drug addiction, violent or suicidal thoughts, and physical syndromes such as coma, seizures, or loss of muscular coordination. Therefore, not only the testing of psychedelic drugs causes ethical debates, but the use of these drugs in general also questions whether they should be used in medicine at all.

After World War II ended, the age of baby-booming and urban sprawling began. During this time, many American soldiers came home from the war; married, and had five or six children. This created the largest generation ever. Could this new generation change the social world of America? In 1964, most of the baby-boomer's children were in their late teens. This was the beginning of a major social change in the United States. With the birth of rock-n-roll not far in the past, and a growing liberalism of the normally conservative American Society, it is no wonder that a powerful hallucinogenic drug called LSD gained so much popularity.

Today, it is fairly common to hear about drugs and things related to drugs, but in the 1960s it wasn’t as common. A recent debate in the modern media is about marijuana, and if it should be legalized or not. We also hear about cases of people abusing different types of drugs or incidents that involve the use of drugs. The most commonly talked about drugs now are marijuana, alcohol, painkillers, cocaine, and heroine. In the 1960s, the “Summer of Love” was fueled by the most common drug at the time LSD, the want of a peaceful and loving environment, and the rise of psychedelic rock.

The researchers conducted their study at the alcoholic unit of the New Jersey Neuro-Psychiatric Institute at Princeton, New Jersey. Participants were recruited by offering patients admitted to the institute the opportunity to take part in the experimental LSD program. A total of 28 alcoholics were admitted to the program, and their results were compared to that of a group of 34 alcoholics who took part in a standard comparison program provided by the Alcoholic Unit. Details about the patients were recorded such as their ethnic background, age, and marital status. Subjects were placed into groups of four. The first week was structured as an orientation week, and at the end of the week, two of the members were randomly chosen to be administered

Merry Pranksters were famous for using LSD and they used higher doses of LSD because they felt that they were in touch with the nature spiritually and it also gave them sensations that they never felt before. In reality, LSD is a

Although we have different opinions about the age limit for drinking and purchasing alcohol, it was interesting to read the comparison from the 1960's to modern-day time about university parties.

There are many substances in this world that are used and abused in order to achieve pleasing psychoactive effects. Two substances of such nature that are abused in today’s society are alcohol and LSD. Alcohol is a liquid that is derived from the fermentation of grains and/or fruit (7). LSD is an ingestible form of lysergic acid which is derived from a fungus called ergot. Both of these drugs are drastically different with minimal similarities, primarily because alcohol is classified as a depressant and LSD is classified as a hallucinogen. Even though these drugs differ in many ways, they are commonly used in unison.

For thousands of years people have spoke of all types of visions. Whether the visions were from religious groups, Indian tribes, or self proclaimed prophets; all types of people have seen things. This was more than likely occurring with the help of different types of hallucinogens. Hallucinogens have been around since the beginning of time. Some mushrooms, cactus flowers, and even different types of mold are all able to produce hallucinogenic effects. However, it was only within the last century that man actually started to produce his own. LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide-25, is a relatively new substance in society. All known effects show LSD, or acid, as the harmful drug most people know it as. There are people who believe

On April 16, 1943, Dr. Hoffman decided to do further research with the LSD compound (Dye, 1992 p. 5). While handling the drug,

It is no secret that drug use has the ability to completely alter a person’s state of consciousness, whether it be through extreme euphoria, increased hyperactivity, pain relief or psychedelic hallucinations. Although many drugs are used for medical purposes, the global issue of recreational drug use is now being fronted as an extremely serious matter that is steadily on the uprise. Recreational drug use is often associated with negativity, addiction and as having serious physical and mental repercussions. One of the few class of drugs that is often associated with both positive and negative connotations are hallucinogens, otherwise known as “psychedelics”, which have powerful altering effects on ones sense of perception, brain function