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When America first dropped acid

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Re: When America first dropped acid

#91

Post by morelisp »

CPLX wrote: post #78
feedforward wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's almost universal opinion on the mainstream, left and right that a cultural shift happened in the US between Eisenhower leaving office and Woodstock. It's not some narrative invented and pushed out. The media does manufacture narratives. Youth in New York and San Francisco had a subculture in the 1950s which was framed as beatnik, and soon sitcoms were mocking beatnik. Small basement performance places would h…

If you want to read a very smart book that really digs into this concept may I recommend: https://www.amazon.com/Conquest-Cool-Business-Counterculture...

Also recommended: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/F/bo377360...

Re: When America first dropped acid

#92

Post by takoid »

elsjaako wrote: post #68
ldjkfkdsjnv wrote: post #13

Recently read a description of 1960's ideology. The claim being that its all propaganda, and what we know as 60s ideology (peace love etc) actually never really happened for a real duration of time. What did happen was that those that prescribed to that line of thinking either moved to communes, or they dropped so much acid they were societally irrelevant. There werent many people actually out and about that were pus…

I love the way Hunter S. Thompson described it. I'll strip it a bit for brevity, but the whole book (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) is worth reading. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run . . . but no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in t…

Another relevant quote from Fear and Loathing that was posted on HN a little over a week ago by isoprophlex:

... a generation of permanent cripples, failed seekers, who never understood the essential mystic fallacy of the Acid Culture: the desperate assumption that somebody - or at least some force - is tending the light at the end of the tunnel.

Re: When America first dropped acid

#93

Post by benbreen »

dghlsakjg wrote: post #89
benbreen wrote: post #85

Author of the book under review here. AMA! One thing I thought would be helpful is to link to the YouTube video described in the opening paragraph: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMF-cyHAaSs It's from a 1957 CBS documentary series called "Focus on Sanity" that featured interviews with Aldous Huxley and Gerald Heard, among others. I found it fascinating and my questions about it were actually one of the motive forces…

From reading Michael Pollan, I recall that there was a lot of work being done on psychedelics up here in Canada. Did you look into that at all? Especially considering the current stance on psychedelics in Canada (essentially decriminalized), and the state of serious research, do you see Canada being a pioneer going forward like it was in the past?

Yes, Canada (and especially Saskatchewan) is very important in psychedelic history. I didn't look into it much personally because it's one part of the story that's been documented very well already via the work of Ericka Dyck, which is excellent. Specifically her book Psychedelic Psychiatry: LSD from Clinic to Campus (Johns Hopkins, 2008) but also other articles by her students and collaborators.

Re: When America first dropped acid

#94

Post by reducesuffering »

ericmcer wrote: post #23
lemonberry wrote: post #6

I take psychedelics a few times a year. I'm good with LSD once a year and I'm ok skipping it. I enjoy low (not micro) doses of mushrooms a few times each summer. Both have been very good for my sobriety. They aren't for everyone though. Great to see this becoming mainstream. Sad to see the number of charlatans and the industry has popped up around it. I hope that we're able to safely get these substances to those tha…

The effects of low doses of mushrooms/MDMA make me wonder if we have been going about it all wrong. You can easily take 20% of the normal amount and have a pleasant and noticeable effect but still be highly functional. It is like our "normal" dose for those drugs is the equivalent of 6+ drinks, and the idea of only having a beer or two is painted as a waste.

I've done it a few times. The 1.75g was one of the most profound moments of my life and the .25g were just an interesting night. Felt like a 20x difference to me.

Re: When America first dropped acid

#95

Post by mistermann »

kamranjon wrote: post #33
ldjkfkdsjnv wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No this opinion comes from Academia. A large volume of media was created in a very short time, and then essentially disappeared/stopped production over night

You say this but having an actual source would be great.

LSD is a hell of a drug, but it's nothing compared to consciousness + culture.

Re: When America first dropped acid

#96

Post by matrix87 »

asveikau wrote: post #82
ldjkfkdsjnv wrote: post #13

Recently read a description of 1960's ideology. The claim being that its all propaganda, and what we know as 60s ideology (peace love etc) actually never really happened for a real duration of time. What did happen was that those that prescribed to that line of thinking either moved to communes, or they dropped so much acid they were societally irrelevant. There werent many people actually out and about that were pus…

I disagree, but ignoring this somewhat, I offer this: One remarkable thing is how the hippie stuff often induced by chemical manipulation of serotonin receptors mirrors a lot of religious messages. You can take slogans like "peace on earth, love your neighbor, love is all you need" and say, is that hippie stuff? Or is it, say... The message attributed to Jesus? In that sense, you don't really need the drugs or counte…

Maybe because psychedelics wake up the part of the human psyche that understands religion

Re: When America first dropped acid

#97

Post by 1letterunixname »

benbreen wrote: post #85

Author of the book under review here. AMA! One thing I thought would be helpful is to link to the YouTube video described in the opening paragraph: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMF-cyHAaSs It's from a 1957 CBS documentary series called "Focus on Sanity" that featured interviews with Aldous Huxley and Gerald Heard, among others. I found it fascinating and my questions about it were actually one of the motive forces…

Excellent find.

I heard perhaps urban folklore from an old-timer former journalist that the LSD trade was monopolized by a single criminal syndicate in the 50's. There are still some haunts with local regulars not overrun with suits, squares, or tourists.

Re: When America first dropped acid

#98

Post by Workaccount2 »

asveikau wrote: post #82
ldjkfkdsjnv wrote: post #13

Recently read a description of 1960's ideology. The claim being that its all propaganda, and what we know as 60s ideology (peace love etc) actually never really happened for a real duration of time. What did happen was that those that prescribed to that line of thinking either moved to communes, or they dropped so much acid they were societally irrelevant. There werent many people actually out and about that were pus…

I disagree, but ignoring this somewhat, I offer this: One remarkable thing is how the hippie stuff often induced by chemical manipulation of serotonin receptors mirrors a lot of religious messages. You can take slogans like "peace on earth, love your neighbor, love is all you need" and say, is that hippie stuff? Or is it, say... The message attributed to Jesus? In that sense, you don't really need the drugs or counte…

There is a not insignificant amount of evidence pointing to psychedelics as playing an outsized role in the formation of religions.

A shaman brewing a mystical drink that gives you visions of supernatural forces is pretty convincing evidence of a god(s) to your any 2000 B.C. person. How else could you explain such a trip while having no concept of chemicals much less neurochemistry.

Re: When America first dropped acid

#99

Post by matrix87 »

I used to do psychedelics frequently and tried really hard to get something out of them. Up until the last time I dropped acid, I just got high and came down.

The last time I ever did a psychedelic, I dropped acid and was reading this book called "Be Here Now" by Ram Dass. There's a part of the book that talks about drug induced psychosis. There's some illustration of lightning hitting a tower. I remember turning the page, seeing it, then hearing this super loud thunder outside that shook the house

I stopped doing them after that point because it was some kind of sign. When I started doing them I wasn't able to believe in God, after that experience I could

Re: When America first dropped acid

#100

Post by mynameishere »

ldjkfkdsjnv wrote: post #13

Recently read a description of 1960's ideology. The claim being that its all propaganda, and what we know as 60s ideology (peace love etc) actually never really happened for a real duration of time. What did happen was that those that prescribed to that line of thinking either moved to communes, or they dropped so much acid they were societally irrelevant. There werent many people actually out and about that were pus…

They're selling hippy wigs in Woolworths, man.
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