Psychedelics- Ancient And Modern History

Bright colors, distortion of reality and hallucinations and religious or mystifying revelations, as well as terrifying images, suicidal tendencies and erratic criminal behaviors are all a part of the psychedelic drug hype. Psychedelic drugs are both feared and revered throughout the world, causing conflicting idolization, folk legends and even government propaganda to surround and shroud the psychedelic drugs and their uses. The popularity of LSD in the 1960’s spotlighted the nature of the psychedelics as the world “turned on, tuned in and dropped out” with psychedelic leaders like Timothy Leary, Tom Wolfe, Neal Cassady and the Merry Pranksters and their cult following in the free-love youth of the hippie counterculture- and “the establishment” didn’t like what it saw. Society’s fear of the psychedelic drugs took root in the hippie culture during the “summer of love” and escalated as the media jumped on the sensational string of murders by Charles Manson and his use of LSD to brainwash the “Manson family.” An outraged public demanded the Psychedelic drugs to be banned, and in 1967 the drugs were assigned to Schedule I classification, spurring the War on Drugs that is still ongoing today.
Since the 60’s psychedelic movement a fear as well as a stereo type has grown against the use of these drugs. However, most people are only aware of the psychedelic era of the 1960’s and even then only see the era through sensationalist media and government propaganda. Psychedelics go much deeper than the altruistic yet fleeting search for enlightenment of the hippie counterculture. From the beginning of our imagination and our first idea of a creator, to Santa Clause and Witches, to a powerful mind altering weapon, psychedelics have played an important role in how we view the world today.
As a part of the Hallucinogen family, Psychedelics belong to a group of drugs that distort reality by altering the sense of time and space, changing mood and the way one views oneself and...