The History Of Lsd And Its Effects On The American Counterculture

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.

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

Art influenced by drugs faces a unique challenge from the mainstream: prove its legitimacy despite its "tainted" origins. The established judges of culture tend to look down upon drug-related art and artists, as though it is the drug and not the artist that is doing the creating. This conflict, less intense but still with us today, has its foundations in the 1960s. As the Beatnik, Hippie, and psychedelic movements grew increasing amounts of national attention, the influence of drugs on culture could no longer be ignored by the mainstream. In an age where once-prolific drugs like marijuana and cocaine had become prohibited and sensationalized,

Introduction - Use of psychoactive substances for recreational purposes is not a radically new social issue. In fact, history tells us that almost every society had their own pharmacopeia of herbs, potions, and substances that not only contributed to healing, but also allowed the user to escape reality (Schules 1992, 4-5). However, it is the contemporary use of psychoactive drugs purchased through illicit or illegal channels and used by persons neither prescribed nor in quantities larger than necessary that defines modern drug abuse (Robins 2006). Prior to World War I, substances like morphine, heroin, and cocaine were available in the major American cities, particularly those with active international ports. For instance, when Chinese immigrants were first imported to work in the mines and railroads during the early 1800s, they brought opium to America. It was the leisure class, who began to experiment with this drug, and, as in Europe, many major U.S. cities had so-called opium dens. In addition, there were a substantial number of "society women" who ended up addicted because their doctor prescribed this drug to deal with female histrionics or to "cure" an excessive sexual appetite (Johnson 2002). Within major cities, this problem began to spill over into other groups: prostitutes, child laborers, orphans, and even men and women of lower social classes seeking to escape the harshness of their lives (Courtwright 2002, 3-19). Between the widespread use and general

This was done through various methods including the writing of an autobiography describing their past and present, delivering monologues regarding their views of people around them including themselves, and questionnaires about their experience with LSD/their attitudes about their lives. During each day that the experiment occurred, at 12:00 pm a research psychiatrist would walk around and talk with the subjects who had received LSD to ask what they saw in the prints on the wall of the room they were in and to talk about their feelings and ideas. At 2:00 pm until about 4:30 pm a group therapy session would be conducted involving all alcoholics from both groups regardless of if they had been administered LSD that day or not. In these sessions a research psychiatrist and/or a sociologist would be present, but largely the purpose of the group was to allow a highly structured but leaderless conversation to occur between the alcoholics in the program. Aside from these group therapy sessions, the subjects who received LSD were isolated in a safe room where they could be

Chemistry of LSD and Route of Access Classification Pharmacologically, the commonly abused hallucinogenic substances may be divided into two major groups. The indolealkylamines, including d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) bear a structural resemblance to the neurotransmitter 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin). The phenylethylamines, including mescaline and the phenylisopropylamines such as 2, 5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM, "STP"), are structurally related to dopamine, norepinephrine, and the amphetamines (Gelenberg, Bassuk, Schoonover 1991). Doses Usual doses range from about 25 micrograms to more than 300 micrograms. LSD is known to posses a low level of

As America was fighting a war for freedom in another country, unruly teens were fighting their own at home. Cultural change, the explosion of free love, youthful rebellion, and a new liberal mindset all seemed to have one underlying device in common; drug use. The late 1960’s into the early and mid-70’s found the perfect environment for recreational drug use. Music and arts celebrated this lifestyle, as well as free thinkers and their idiotic philosophies about spiritual elation through mind altering narcotics. Lack of family structure with so many homes transformed by the Vietnam War also left young teens without guidance, and an economy with little to offer to the up and coming generation. As the next few years passed and the free love generation began to grasp the concept of working for a living, showering on a regular basis, love with commitment (or antibiotics), and cultural change through policy, they brought to the workforce a new dynamic not previously prevalent. Recreational drug use had become part of society. Vietnam War veterans also brought their own demons home with their return, opiate addictions were a common occurrence (Carson 2012).

The 1960’s impacted the United States in profound ways. With the seventy million baby boomers growing into their teens, they brought with them change that is still evolving in our society today. The sixties was a time where American culture moved from being conservative to new and insightful ways of thinking. With these changes, it brought a new counter culture that would be known as the hippie culture. The hippies led way into a new sexual revolution that would break the old fashioned boundaries. The hippies also ushered in a new era where drugs became popular to a large public as well as within their own culture. Drugs were becoming a part of American culture, as well as new scientific research, into the benefits

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

The student’s experience with mushrooms, or more known as shrooms, is that they are a very high stimulant. The student experiences uncontrollable laughing and smiling while under the influence of mushrooms. However, shortly after the affect of the mushrooms kicks-in,

Psychedelics are widely believed by the scientific community to be the oldest substances to be used by human ancestors. Ancient cultures from almost every corner of the world have some form of history with psychedelic drugs. Associate Professor Emeritus at Harvard Medical School Dr. Lester Grinspoon has claimed that there is overwhelming archeological evidence supporting the notion that humans have used psychedelics for thousands of years as part of religious ceremonies (Grinspoon and Bakalar 1983: 16-23). Mescaline-containing cacti found in 2005 by archeologists and carbon dated to 3780 BC (El-Seedi et al. 238-242) suggest that Native Americans valued peyote’s naturally produced psychedelic, mescaline. There is also an abundance of literature

Synthesis done in an established lab under the care of professional chemists, however, leads to pure product of high quality. Professional production of this scale is usually only conducted for potential medications. In fact, LSD was first prescribed as a medication to treat those with mental functioning problems. Although LSD was first designed as a medication to treat psychiatric disorders, in the past seventy years or so, it has branched out into other areas of interest, mainly recreational and ritualistic use. Despite being designed as medication intended to help those with psychiatric trouble, LSD currently holds no approved medical use. It was determined that the hallucinations and other side effects far outweighed any benefits that the drug may have enacted. In today’s society, LSD is most commonly seen in the recreational and, more often, spiritual categories of its consumption. Recreational consumption of LSD reached its peak during the 1960’s as the youth culture of the time had accepted hallucinogenic drugs as the staple for ingestion. The public acceptance in addition to abundant advocacy from popular public images, notably the Grateful Dead who provided the primary avenue of distribution through their concerts, carried LSD use to an all-time high. The use of LSD has dropped dramatically from what it was in the early stages of the 1960’s after

A social movement can be defined as a dynamic phenomenon; the situation that is observed to exist/happen is in a state of flux. A vital analysis on social movements necessitates a proper theoretical perspective, that being an interactionist perspective as it provides a useful dynamic mode of analysis. A “temporal and developmental perspective” is also necessary in the sense that it greatly enhances the valuable analytic tools found within certain structural concepts. Robert Merton’s deviance typology/social strain theory states: social structures may pressure citizens to commit crimes. So, not ONLY must we identify the strain factors in initiation of the movement, but also identify the strains that have developed, giving shape and direction to the movements history. It has been discussed that public reaction may drive movements into revolution vis-a-vis the larger society. Although, there have been attempts to deal with the dynamics involved, as well as attempts to study facets of movements, it should be noted that ideologies may shift as a result of the interaction between the movement and the larger society. The social movement analyzed here, is the effort by Timothy Leary (and others) and his ultimate goal to obtain the freedom to use drugs that expand consciousness. However, the analysis of Timothy Leary’s social movement, is problematic for other social movements because existing studies have not sought to delineate interactive