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Selected Papers of William L. White Selected Papers of William L. White www.williamwhitepapers.com Collected papers, interviews, video presentations, photos, and archival documents on the history of addiction treatment and recovery in America. Citation: White, W. (2014). Timothy Leary and LSD. Posted at www.williamwhitepapers.com. Timothy Leary and LSD: “Turn on, Tune In, Drop Out” William L. White Emeritus Senior Research Consultant Chestnut Health Systems [email protected] NOTE: The original 1,000+ page manuscript for Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America had to be cut by more than half before its first publication in 1998. This is an edited excerpt that was deleted from the original manuscript. Timothy Leary was not a logical their potential role in facilitating personal candidate for activist high priest of a drug- change. With two collaborators, first Frank promoting cultural movement. He attended Barron and then Richard Alpert, Leary began Catholic high school, Holy Cross College, the Harvard Psychedelic Drug Research West Point, the University of Alabama and Program. They ordered a supply of served as a military and research psilocybin--the psychoactive ingredient in psychologist before assuming a position in the Mexican mushrooms Leary had 1960 at the Harvard University Center for consumed--from Sandoz Laboratory and by Research in Human Personality. His primary reading everything they could find on research interest was on the process visionary experiences, beginning with through which people changed. William James’ account of the “intense While vacationing in Curnavaca, metaphysical illumination” he experienced Mexico in 1960, Leary heard reports of a while intoxicated with nitrous oxide. Just psychoactive mushroom used by local before Thanksgiving 1960, the psilocybin Indians. The mushroom was said to have a arrived from Sandoz. profound effect on those who used it. After There were many key people involved obtaining some of this mushroom through a during this early period who played an curandero in San Pedro, Leary consumed a important role in the unfolding history of small quantity and experienced a dramatic psychedelic drug use in America. There was alteration of consciousness. He later Alpert who would later change his name to described this four-hour experience as Baba Ram Dass and become a popular deeply religious, and said simply, “I returned author (Be Here Now) and spiritual teacher. a changed man” (Leary, 1983, p. 32). Aldous Huxley happened to be at Cambridge Leary arrived back at Harvard in a serving as an MIT visiting professor. He state of great excitement. He had decided to became involved with Leary’s experiments pursue the study of hallucinogenic drugs and and was an important figure in the dialogue williamwhitepapers.com 1 about what future directions their work with psychedelic drug advocates (Hollingshead, hallucinogens should take. There was Allen 1973). Ginsberg, poet laureate of the beat During this same period, there was a generation, who after taking hallucinogens growing national awareness of spoke in revolutionary terms about the right hallucinogenic drugs. In 1962, Aldous to manage one’s own nervous system. Huxley's vision of a utopian psychedelic There was Ralph Metzner who served as society--Island--was released and was editor of the journal, Psychedlic Review, and followed at the end of the year by a report in who would go on to write the Psychedlic Newsweek warning of the black market Experience and other books on the manufacture of LSD and its effects (Huxley, hallucinogenic experience (Leary, 1983, p. 1962; Newsweek 1962, December 10, p. 50). And then there was the stranger with the 565). Articles on LSD and peyote began to mayonnaise jar. appear in such popular journals as Life In the fall of 1961, a British student Magazine and Time during 1963. Some of named Michael Hollingshead came to these early articles reported the drug being Cambridge to consult Leary on how best to used by such Hollywood stars as Cary promote the positive influence of Grant, James Coburn, and Jack Nicholson. psychedelic drug use. He brought with him Coverage of hallucinogens by the major a most unusual asset--a jar of powdered newspapers was also beginning to increase. sugar laced with LSD. (Hollingshead had Americans read in their morning newspapers himself procured his original gram of LSD in 1964 of youthful LSD experimentation and (about 5,000 individual doses) for $285 from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that Sandoz Laboratories. Leary was initially affirmed the right of the Native American suspect of the substance as all of the early Church to use peyote within its religious Harvard experiments had been conducted ceremonies. with psilocybin. Finally relenting to Meanwhile back at Harvard, the Hollingshead’s encouragement, he tried the Harvard Psychedelic Project was expanding drug and underwent an experience much its research to include subjects that ranged more profound than anything the psilocybin from inmates of the Massachusetts trials had prepared him for. Leary became Department of Corrections to divinity an instant convert to the powers of LSD, later students from the Andover-Newton noting of this first LSD experience: Theological Seminary. The Harvard “research” on hallucinogens consisted From the date of this session it was primarily of getting as many people as inevitable that we would leave Harvard, that possible to take the drug and recording the we would leave American society and that nature of their experiences. Carefully we would spend the rest of our lives as observed and recorded experiments mutants, faithfully following the instructions deteriorated to what appeared to be almost of our internal blueprints and tenderly, gently indiscriminate use with little pretense to even disregarding the parochial social inanities sustain the minimal trappings of scientific (Leary, 1968). investigation. Leary and his colleagues did, however, evolve early rituals--rules would be Leary went on to experiment with too strong a word--that guided drug many hallucinogens, but none captivated experiences within the Harvard Psychedelic him quite the way LSD did. Leary placed Project. These rituals included providing LSD’s role in human history on par with "the complete information about LSD and the discovery of fire and the invention of the LSD experience before someone used the wheel" (Stevens, 1987, p. xv). As for the drug, selecting a pleasant physical setting, man with 5,000 doses of LSD in the using the drug only within the context of mayonnaise jar, Hollingshead stayed at comfortable relationships, including friendly Leary’s home for some time and became an drug-free observers, and assuring the right important player in the early mix of williamwhitepapers.com 2 of each person to determine his or her own Aldous Huxley did not live to witness the dose of LSD (Hollingshead, 1973). massive spread of hallucinogenic drug use Controversy rose as Leary and in the 1960s and early 1970s. Leary’s exit Alpert’s drug experiments spread through from Harvard marked the triumph of the first the faculty and graduate students and then strategy. to undergraduate students. Leary and Upon his dismissal from Harvard, Alpert were quite open in their promotion of Leary decided to take LSD to the masses. hallucinogenic drug experimentation--drugs To this end, he organized the International that in the early 1960s were still legal in the Foundation for Internal Freedom and the U.S. They published glowing accounts of League for Spiritual Discovery and LSD in the Harvard Review and Harvard challenged a generation to "turn on, tune in, Crimson during 1963. In turn, there were and drop out." He promoted his philosophy wild rumors surrounding the Psychedelic by phonograph (The Five Levels of Project, including a rumor that punch at a Consciousness), by film (Turn On, Tune In, university function had been spiked with LSD Drop Out), by book (High Priest) and by by a student in Leary’s Project. Newspaper Journal (Psychedelic Review). He used the coverage of the Project became highly stump speech and the television and print sensationalized with titles that referenced media with the skill of a seasoned politician the Harvard research project as an to promote the chemical alteration of “Hallucinogenic Drug Cult.” Fellow faculty consciousness. members suggested that Leary seemed to Such visibility generated legal have abandoned science for his role as problems for Leary. He was arrested for leader of what sounded like a new religion possession of marihuana and LSD in New (Hollingshead, 1973, p. 39-40). As the York, for possession of marihuana at the controversy surrounding their work Mexican border, and for failing to register as increased, Leary and Alpert both left Harvard a narcotics violator before leaving the in 1963, with accounts varying as to their country. At one point he faced twenty years resignation or firing. in prison on federal and state charges and From the time of Leary’s first still had eleven charges pending. Leary experimentation with psilocybin until his exit served time in prison, escaped, returned to from Harvard in 1963, those who were prison, and was released in 1976. After his enamored with the potential power of LSD release, he capitalized on his celebrity status and other hallucinogens shared an by doing a traveling debate with G. Gordon overwhelming consensus about the potential Liddy who was seeking to capitalize on his power of these substances as agents of Watergate fame. Liddy also had the personal and social change. But they were distinction of having led a raid on Leary’s divided into two camps regarding how these residence in New York while Liddy was drugs might best be utilized. The first camp, serving as an assistant prosecutor. led by Leary, believed hallucinogens should Timothy Leary died in 1996. In spite become part of a mass revolution in of all the turmoil hallucinogens and consciousness--that the drug should get to marihuana would bring to Leary’s life, he as many human beings as possible as fast reported in his 1983 autobiography that as possible.
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