Long before Timothy Leary urged a generation to “tune in, turn on and drop out,” lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, was being used by researchers trying to understand the human mind. This documentary is a fascinating look at the story of “acid” before it hit the streets.
Discovered in 1943 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, LSD was hailed as a powerful tool to treat alcoholism and drug addiction and to provide a window into schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. While researchers were establishing the medical benefits of LSD, others, such as Brave New World author Aldous Huxley, promoted the drug as a powerful tool for mental exploration and self-understanding. At Harvard, Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner and Ram Dass (then known as Richard Alpert) became popular heroes after the university canceled their research project into psychedelics.
“It’s the realm of mystical experience. And those who’ve been there describe the visit as the most significant event of their lifes. Until recent times that was a world known only to holy men, to saints, or perhaps to the insane. Then a generation ago this drug, LSD, escaped from the laboratory. It was consumed by millions of young people. To some it’s a doorway to the mystical universe, chemical ecstasy, enlightenment in a bottle. To others it’s a dangerous and subversive poison.”
CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEOS:
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4
PART 5
PART 6
PART 7
PART 8
PART 9
