What fascinated me in this week’s lecture is how people have
been using different kinds of chemicals and herbs to alter their mental states
throughout history. Many people, including myself, think that drugs are a
relatively common phenomenon and fail to realize how prevalent the use of drugs
was in the past.
Albert Hofmann first synthesized LSD for the first time in
the 1930s, however its
hallucinogenic effects were unknown until the early 1940s when Hofmann
accidentally consumed some LSD. It is interesting to note that LSD was
actually used by psychiatrists in experiments in the 1940s,’50s and ‘60s. No
medical use for the drug was ever discovered, but the widespread distribution
of free samples by Sandoz Pharmaceuticals for the experiments led to the rampant
use, and even misuse, of this substance.
Aldous Huxley was a renowned British author and playwright
who advocated the use of psychedelics.
His descriptions of the drugs in his works did much to spread awareness
to the generalized public. Although he was very serious about the use of these
drugs to cure illnesses and also help further artistic expression, his
descriptions ended up glamorizing their recreational use.
Psychologist Timothy
Leary also further popularized LSD in the 1960s. He was a professor at Harvard
who distributed LSD to his graduate students as part of his experiments. He
believed that this psychedelic drug would give them opportunities to explore
their inner consciousness and broaden their minds. Many undergraduate students
at Harvard began to hear of the experiences of those who were under the
influence of LSD and started taking the drug recreationally, since at this time
LSD was still not banned.
LSD was also used as
part of government experiments designed to explore the possibilities of
pharmaceutical mind control. Many people belonging to difference sections of
society and having different occupations, ranging from soldiers to prostitutes,
were given the drug, often without even their knowledge and/or consent. Many
people died as a consequence of these experiments, making people realize that
the effects of LSD were highly unpredictable and unreliable.
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