LSD emerges
LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide, is a powerful hallucinogenic drug that emerged in the early 20th century, primarily recognized for its profound effects on perception and consciousness. Discovered by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann in 1943, LSD was initially explored for its potential therapeutic benefits in treating various psychological conditions, including schizophrenia and depression. The drug gained popularity in the 1960s, particularly among cultural figures like psychologist Timothy Leary and author Ken Kesey, who promoted its use as a means of expanding consciousness and spiritual experiences.
Despite its initial promise, the political landscape shifted dramatically as concerns about its recreational use and association with counterculture movements intensified. By 1966, LSD was declared illegal, yet it maintained a strong presence in music and festival culture, influencing the rise of acid rock and becoming synonymous with the 1960s hippie movement. However, the drug's reputation suffered significantly due to tragic events linked to its use, including the infamous Manson murders and violent incidents at music concerts, which contributed to a societal backlash against psychedelics. Today, LSD remains a topic of interest for researchers exploring its potential therapeutic applications, as well as for those investigating its cultural impact during a transformative period in American history.
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LSD emerges
An extremely powerful and controversial hallucinogenic drug that became a staple of the 1960’s counterculture. LSD has enjoyed an enduring mystique and continues to be used illicitly by a small segment of the population.
Origins and History
LSD is an acronym for lysergic acid diethylamide, a compound derived from ergot, a rye fungus. LSD, or “acid” in popular parlance, was discovered on April 16, 1943, by Albert Hofmann, a research chemist for Sandoz Pharmaceuticals in Basel, Switzerland, who accidentally ingested a minute amount of the chemical and soon experienced fascinating and vivid perceptual changes. Further tests confirmed the extraordinary potency of the substance: 250 millionths of a gram was enough to trigger profound and sometimes frightening distortions of consciousness. In 1949, LSD was introduced into the United States as a psychiatric wonder drug used to treat a variety of psychological problems: schizophrenia, depression, various kinds of sexual deviance, alcoholism, and criminality. In the late 1940’s and 1950’s, the U.S. military and intelligence communities (including the U.S. Army, Navy, Office of Strategic Services, and Central Intelligence Agency) experimented with LSD as a possible truth serum, incapacitant, or “unconventional warfare” agent but ultimately found its properties too unpredictable for their purposes.
Timothy Leary, a psychologist at Harvard University, ingested “magic mushrooms” (a natural hallucinogen) while on vacation in Mexico in the summer of 1960. The drug induced a powerful religious experience that launched Leary on a lifelong career as a flamboyant proselytizer for psychedelic drugs. However, the political winds soon shifted against Leary. In October, 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed legislation that strictly regulated the testing of new drugs. The Food and Drug Administration officially deemed LSD an “experimental drug” and restricted distribution to research facilities; general psychiatric use was discontinued. In the ensuing backlash, Leary and a colleague, Richard Alpert, were ejected from Harvard in May, 1963. Efforts to suppress the drug were, however, too late; LSD was already a well-established black market commodity. Other LSD gurus emerged on the scene, most notably author Ken Kesey, who, along with a group of people called the Merry Pranksters, traveled around the country in a bus, touting the visionary qualities of psychedelics. The Grateful Dead, a San Francisco rock band, became famous for extended free-form musical improvisations that were best appreciated by listeners on LSD (known as “Deadheads”). Although LSD had become illegal in 1966, it became an integral part of campus life, rock concerts, and festivals in the late 1960’s and even spawned a musical genre, “acid rock,” whose famous proponents included the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and guitarist Jimi Hendrix.
Impact
Increasingly tainted by the degeneration of the hippie subculture, the utopian aura that once surrounded LSD was decisively shattered in 1969 when LSD enthusiast Charles Manson and his cohorts went on an infamous murder rampage. A few months later, a young concert-goer was killed at a chaotic, drug-soaked Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway in Northern California.
Additional Information
Books of particular interest on this topic are Acid Dream: The CIA, LSD, and the Sixties Rebellion (1984), by Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain; Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream (1987), by Jay Stevens; Flashbacks: A Personal and Cultural History of an Era (1990), by Timothy Leary.