{"id":151,"date":"2017-02-03T00:02:43","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T00:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hippy.com\/hip\/uncategorized\/hippies-drugs\/"},"modified":"2017-02-03T00:02:43","modified_gmt":"2017-02-03T00:02:43","slug":"hippies-drugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/drugs\/hippies-drugs\/","title":{"rendered":"Hippies & Drugs"},"content":{"rendered":"

But I would not feel so all alone, everybody must get stoned.
\n<\/b>Bob Dylan (Rainy Day Women nos. 12 & 35)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the 1960s the hippies, en masse, undertook the largest uncontrolled experiment with drug use in the history of mankind. In those days it wasn’t unusual to be handed a pill, and swallow it with the only instruction You’ll dig it, it’s groovy. You trusted your fellow hippy and you wanted to get high and have a new experience. This was freedom. This was rebellion. This was cool. We discovered that Pandora’s stash box was full of drugs!<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

Purple Haze all in my brain, lately things don’t seem the same. <\/b><\/p>\n

Actin’ funny but I don’t know why. ‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky. <\/b><\/p>\n

Jimi Hendrix (Purple Haze)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From laboratories in pharmaceutical companies, on college campus and
\nbathrooms around the country came a plethora of new drugs with names like
\nLSD 25, DMT, purple haze, MDMA, orange sunshine, synthetic mescaline, psilocybin,
\nSTP and many more. The purity and action of these drugs got more dubious
\nas time went on, as unscrupulous dealers sought to capitalize on the drug
\ncraze. Along with methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, even heroin, hippies
\ntried whatever they could get their hands on.<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

If you can remember the ’60s, then you weren’t there.<\/b><\/p>\n

Unknown<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Why did hippies use drugs so extensively without concern? Let’s look
\nat the history of drug use leading up to this situation. After World War
\nII, the pharmaceutical industry exploded with research into new drugs.
\nThey produced drugs to prevent disease, to cure disease, to alleviate pain,
\nto relieve upset stomachs, to keep you alert, to help you to sleep, to
\nlessen worry, to reduce hyperactivity in children, to remove the symptoms
\nof psychological disorders. Thanks to the industry’s aggressive campaigns
\nin the media and the doctor’s office, every medicine cabinet filled up
\nwith drugs for every sort of ailment.<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small. <\/b><\/p>\n

And the ones that mother gives you don’t do anything at all. <\/b><\/p>\n

Go ask Alice, when she’s ten feet tall. <\/b><\/p>\n

Jefferson Airplane (White Rabbit)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I remember when I was a child of eight or so, having a headache or toothache,
\nand my mother giving me an aspirin saying it would make it feel better.
\nI like many of my generation was curious about drugs even at that age.
\nI asked my mom If it makes you feel better when you hurt, what does it
\ndo when you feel fine? My thought was that it would make you feel really
\ngood! Yes, I had what it takes to be a drugstore cowboy even then.<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

Better living through chemistry.<\/b><\/p>\n

Dow Chemical advertisement<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Drugs were portrayed as wonders of modern technology. We were led to
\nbelieve that soon all diseases would be conquered by taking some drug.
\nIt was a time of unbridled optimism and the pharmaceutical propaganda worked
\nwell on us young children. After all by the time I was eight, I’d downed
\nthousands of vitamins, hundreds of aspirins, had vaccines on sugar cubes
\nand in needles, drank colorful syrups for coughs, taken antibiotics to
\nkill bad bugs inside me. And I was a very healthy child!<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

Not feeling right? – Take a Pill!<\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday Night Live<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So in the early 60s, drugs were not seen as evil. Yes, heroin was that
\nbad drug that junkies were addicted to. But all the rest were good and
\nhelped heal us, or at least made us feel better. It’s taken a prolonged,
\ndecades long, anti-drug propaganda campaign to undo the pro-drug pharmaceutical
\ncompany brainwash. Now kids are more confused than ever. Many eagerly spout
\nthe politically correct line drugs are bad, while they wash down their
\nRitalin with caffeinated colas, then sneak a cigarette or a beer between
\nclasses.<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

Reality is a crutch for people who can’t handle drugs. <\/b><\/p>\n

Unknown<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the 1950’s the Beats were fond of marijuana and wrote and sang about
\nit, often in veiled terms. Illegal since the 30s, it was underground and
\noccasionally someone famous would be busted with it. But the Beats were
\nfar fonder of alcohol as were most people. Alcohol was and is the true
\ngateway drug, if any actually exists. We all have a drink before our first
\ndate with Mary Jane.<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed <\/b><\/p>\n

by madness, starving hysterical naked, <\/b><\/p>\n

dragging themselves through the negro streets at <\/b><\/p>\n

dawn looking for an angry fix, <\/b><\/p>\n

angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient <\/b><\/p>\n

heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the <\/b><\/p>\n

machinery of night, <\/b><\/p>\n

who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high <\/b><\/p>\n

sat up smoking in the supernatural darkness of <\/b><\/p>\n

cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities <\/b><\/p>\n

contemplating jazz. <\/b><\/p>\n

Allen Ginsberg (Howl)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Beats were aware of the effects of marijuana: increased sensitivity
\nand creativity. Artists, poets, writers, musicians, all felt inspired under
\nits influence. It would usually surface at parties and along with alcohol
\n(usually wine), helped lower inhibitions and get the party moving. It was
\nin this group context where the uninitiated would usually encounter their
\nfirst joint.<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

I get by with a little help from my friends, <\/b><\/p>\n

get high with a little help from my friends. <\/b><\/p>\n

The Beatles (With a Little Help From My Friends)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With the hippies, the group scene was just as important and influential.
\nWhen you saw your friends all participating in an illegal act without negative
\nconsequence, and lots of positive ones, who could resist? Peer pressure
\nat its most effective. I smoked my first joint with my fellow cabin mates
\nat a summer camp where I worked when I was 16. A few months later, I was
\nat college smoking it every day, and had already taken my first LSD trip.<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

Feed your head!<\/b><\/p>\n

Jefferson Airplane (White Rabbit)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s interesting to speculate what might’ve been had LSD not become
\navailable to us. How much was it responsible for? More powerful than either
\nmescaline or psilocybin, and far easier to mass produce, its impact cannot
\nbe underestimated. Many of today’s technological wonders including the
\npersonal computer and the Internet are due to the inspiration and enlightenment
\nof LSD (and marijuana). Carl Sagan has admitted (posthumously) his use
\nof marijuana to inspire his best-selling books Contact and Cosmos.<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

Avoid all needle drugs. <\/b><\/p>\n

The only dope worth shooting is Richard Nixon.<\/b><\/p>\n

-Abbie Hoffman<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Colorful fashions, several art movements and of course the incredible
\noutpouring of musical talent in the 1960s was directly due to the impact
\nof psychedelic drugs. Having such open minds, hippies were the ones who
\nexperimented with and experienced the insights these drugs provide, thus
\nunleashing a barrage of new ideas upon society.<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

LSD melts in your mind, not in your hand.<\/b><\/p>\n

Unknown<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What is it about LSD that makes it such an inspirational experience?
\nI’m having a hard time coming up with an analogy for those who haven’t had
\nthe LSD experience. But I’ll try one. If using marijuana encourages thoughts
\nabout God, and mescaline is like seeing or talking with God, then an LSD
\ntrip is experiencing the world as God. That is its mind-blowing potential.<\/p>\n

The Shamans<\/strong>
\nThe hippies were blessed to have among them some individuals who can be
\nconsidered Psychedelic Shamans. These shamans led the way, first by experimenting
\nthemselves, then by reporting the results and promoting their realizations
\nin various media. The following brief portraits are taken from Hippyland’s
\nPsychedelic Shamanism page. Please see the bibliography for recommended
\nreading by these authors, or visit our online bookstore at http:\/\/hipmarket.com\/bookstore\/bookstore.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/center>Aldous Huxley<\/b> – It’s widely known that Huxley experimented with
\npsychedelics including mescaline and LSD. In fact as he lay dying, he asked
\nfor and received his last dose of acid. His great works of fiction include
\n‘Brave New World’ about test-tube babies, consumerism and Soma, the drug
\nof choice. I’m still longing to take a Soma Holiday. Huxley’s ‘Doors
\nof Perception of Heaven and Hell’ is a classic of psychedelic literature.
\nIt’s based on his experiences with mescaline and how it opened the doors
\nof the mind. The Doors named their rock group after this book.<\/p>\n

Timothy Leary<\/b> – The high priest of LSD, Leary is clearly the
\nKing of Shamans. His role as professor at Harvard University soon took
\na back seat to his public persona once he discovered for himself the powerful
\ninsights available through psychedelics. Unable to restrain Leary’s enthusiasm,
\nHarvard dismissed him, allowing Leary to experiment with psychedelics under
\nhis own terms. Once freed from clinical restraints, Leary determined which
\nfactors enhanced and promoted good trips. He was quick to realize that
\nthe LSD trip was a religious experience that transformed the tripper for
\nlife. He encouraged clergy, scientists, artists and many others to experiment
\nwith LSD and recorded their experiences. His legendary sessions in Millbrook,
\nN.Y. yielded much data, but more importantly pioneered the personal and
\ninterpersonal psychedelic experience as never before.<\/p>\n

Leary became the focus of public debate about the use of drugs, leading
\nto the criminalization of LSD and other psychedelics. Leary himself became
\nthe target of governmental repression, with Richard Nixon calling him the
\nmost dangerous man in America. Imprisoned, escaped, on-the-lam, returned
\nfrom exile, Leary remained unfazed in his efforts to promote the psychedelic,
\nshamanic experience. His numerous books exhort the reader to discover for
\nhimself the mind-expanding potential of psychedelics.<\/p>\n

John Lennon<\/b> – While John Lennon might have considered himself
\nforemost an artist and musician, he nevertheless met the criteria of a
\nshaman in today’s society. His great influence among young people was due
\nto his charisma and talent. Lennon’s experiences with psychedelics, particularly
\nLSD, changed his view of the world and the way he expressed himself through
\nhis music. Not only did he become more experimental and inventive, but
\nhis lyrics took on an otherworldly nature. His songs inspired countless
\nthousands to open their minds and experiment with psychedelics. Some of
\nhis tunes were actually composed and recorded under the influence of LSD.
\nJohn was a tireless promoter of the hippy\/shamanic message of peace, love
\nand understanding. His message reached the far corners of the planet.<\/p>\n

Jim Morrison<\/b> – Morrison, the songwriter and lead singer for the
\nDoors, was an iconoclast who used his fame to get his message across. A
\npoet and philosopher, Jim felt it necessary to push the envelope and society
\nas far as you could to find freedom. He knew that drugs were just Doors
\nto other worlds where few explorers ventured. His music, his lyrics and
\nhis passion took us to some dark places in our personal and collective
\npsyches. Like any good shaman, Jim’s real talent was taking us along on
\nhis journeys into these forbidden realms and opening our minds with his
\nvivid perceptions.<\/p>\n

Carlos Castaneda<\/b> – Steeped in the shamanic tradition of the Nahuatl
\nIndians of Mexico, Castaneda weaves a tale of initiation, revelation, power
\nand transcendence in his series of books. The story of how Carlos meets
\nand accepts his apprenticeship under the tutelage of brujo Don Juan is
\na masterpiece. The endless debate about whether it’s a work of fact or
\nfiction is notwithstanding. The teachings underlying the work have great
\nmerit, as they give meaning to existence and provide a path, the warrior’s,
\nfor those souls brave enough to confront their own weaknesses and transform
\nthemselves.<\/p>\n

Terence McKenna<\/b> – Terence McKenna is a man who, like Gordon Wasson,
\nlived with the natives and learned their shamanic ways. Along with his
\nbrother, Dennis, they added much to our knowledge of ethnobotany, the native
\nuses of psychedelic plants. McKenna’s book, Food of the Gods, was a landmark
\nin this field. Terence is well known for his work with Ayuhuasca and DMT
\nas well as his lectures on these and other subjects.<\/p>\n

Alexander & Ann Shulgin<\/b> – This husband and wife biochemist
\nteam have explored the whole range of psychedelic drugs including some
\nthat few, if any, have tried. They are known as the parents of Ecstacy.
\nTheir books Tihkal and Pihkal are filled with their psychedelic experiments
\nand experiences as well as how-to make your own.<\/p>\n

Ken Kesey<\/b> – In contrast to Timothy Leary’s experimental approach
\nto psychedelics, Kesey explored the experiential. Along with his Merry
\nPranksters, Kesey felt that psychedelics were a new way to experience the
\nworld. Inviting diverse friends from Allen Ginsberg to the Hell’s Angels
\nto his place in La Honda he was able to transform groups of people via
\nthe communal trip. After turning on hundreds of mind travelers, he decided
\nto take his show on the road in a Day-Glo bus. Kesey and the Pranksters
\nwent on a psychedelic cross-country trip that inspired many including
\nthe Beatles (Magical Mystery Tour) to try to duplicate. The Pranksters’
\nfamous Acid-Test parties where LSD laced Kool-Aid was dispensed accompanied
\nby music (by such notables as the Grateful Dead) and light shows were modern
\nday correlates to the shamanic rituals of old.<\/p>\n

<\/center>The War on Drugs<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach
\nis more so.<\/b><\/p>\n

Mahatma Gandhi<\/p>\n

In my opinion, the real reason for the War on Drugs, and the particular
\nemphasis on marijuana is that it is a way to control freethinking individuals.
\nThis works by either denying access to mind-liberating substances, or by
\nimprisoning those who use them. Just as the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover maintained
\na list of subversive enemies of the state, today’s enemy list includes
\nanyone who uses (not necessarily abuses) drugs that are not beatified by
\nour medical\/industrial\/political machine.<\/p>\n

If they can’t control our minds, they must control our bodies, thus
\nprisons multiply. They fear a loss of control over the workforce, the primary
\nconsumers, the taxpayers, and their political constituents. For if we stop
\nobeying our masters, it’s tantamount to a slave rebellion. That is all
\nwe are, slaves working for the next dollar. We are no longer individuals
\nwith freedom to delve beyond the system’s programmed parameters.<\/p>\n

This threat is real, since the system offers no alternatives. You’re
\neither on the bus or you’re one of them. If you happen to be one of the
\n700,000 American Citizens who get arrested for a marijuana offense each
\nyear, you know which side you’re on. Likewise, if you’re one of the millions
\nwho live in fear that one day your illegal toke will get you busted or
\nfired, paranoia is your constant companion.<\/p>\n

This is an issue that no hippy or freedom loving American can ignore.
\nIt’s symptomatic of a disease that has been growing within our system of
\ngovernment since Timothy Leary and Ken Kesey took LSD out of the lab and
\nput it into the hands of the people. LSD would’ve been a great counter-espionage
\ntool if the CIA could have controlled it. But it’s precisely this lack
\nof control, over the thoughts in peoples’ minds that the established order
\nfears.<\/p>\n

This is one issue hippies can unite on. Our brothers and sisters rot
\nin jail while we debate whether we should legalize industrial hemp. AIDS
\nand cancer patients live their last days in pain and nausea, some also
\nin jail, while we hide our past and\/or present illicit activities from
\nfamilies, friends and co-workers. Did your conscience and reason leave
\nyou somewhere back in the ’70s? Does the word hypocrite ring any
\nbells?<\/p>\n

We must act on this issue, now! We must get beyond politically correct
\nattitudes and realize our government has declared war on freethinking,
\nfreedom loving Americans. Only a sustained, well financed, organized, united
\neffort can possibly change peoples’ thinking about marijuana. Marijuana
\nmust be recognized for what it is: a medicinal herb, an effective pain
\nreliever and anti-nausea agent for critically ill patients, a plant with
\n1001 industrial uses, a sacred sacrament for many religions, and a safe,
\nalternative soft drug that can replace alcohol as a relaxing, non-aggressive
\nrecreational activity for millions of people.<\/p>\n

In addition our government should finance research into the medical
\nand cultural uses of other psychedelic chemicals. The shamanic and
\nritual use of plants for personal exploration has been an accepted part
\nof society for thousands of years. To repress this use not only ignores
\nan important element of human culture, but the lack of knowledge about
\nthese substances endangers the well being of those who seek self-discovery.<\/p>\n

Posted by: skip
\nViews: 95295
\nTopic:10\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But I would not feel so all alone, everybody must get stoned. Bob Dylan (Rainy Day Women nos. 12 & 35) In the 1960s the hippies, en masse, undertook the largest uncontrolled experiment with drug use in the history of mankind. In those days it wasn’t unusual to be handed a pill, and swallow it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-drugs","category-health","category-hippies-from-a-to-z"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}