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A review by adamz24
Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond by Martin A. Lee, Bruce Shlain
4.0
The "cultural history" stuff, as several critics have pointed out, is not anywhere near as compelling as the info gathered from declassified CIA files, which all sounds like the invention of some rambling ancient hippie rotting in an incense store somewhere, but, you know, isn't.
Takeaways:
Humans are really weird ape-things and it's hard to believe the world isn't much, much worse off than it is
Timothy Leary was a complete jackass who ruined everything for everyone
LSD is not a magic molecule that will save everyone and turn them into peaceful, caring, loving individuals who will forever maintain peace on Earth
LSD is a remarkable molecule with a huge number of possible benefits and a very, very high safety profile in comparison to just about every drug your doctor can prescribe you (fun fact: I get prescribed amphetamines, which, along with heroin, played a role in absolutely decimating the hippie movement, especially the Haight-Ashbury scene, bringing it to an early end, and is correlated with the increase in violence in New Left circles and a massive increase in crime in the Haight; fun fact: children get prescribed amphetamines; fun fact: doctors hand out opiates (no better/worse than heroin) like candy, fun fact: doctors hand out benzos like candy; fun fact: fun fact: alcoholics and other addicts do not have access to LSD, which has been shown over and over again to aid tremendously in treating addiction; fun fact: alcohol, which is a few hundred times more addictive and destructive than LSD [but still something we can consume with regularity without hugely negative results (!!!!)], which is known to be capable of causing cancer in just about every tissue in the human body, is easily bought, even in the form of pure fucking ethanol)
the US government's drug policy is insane and has no sound basis in reality
the cultural narrative surrounding psychedelic drug use is bullshit in its purest form
the CIA was and probably still is up to really, really weird shit. There is a distinction between unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and reasonable thoughts about the kinds of conspiracies that take place every day at the highest government levels. The CIA, factually, experimented with LSD (and around LSD) to highly nefarious ends and in highly nefarious ways. The CIA was involved in the hippie movement in sometimes shocking ways
The CIA is more stupid and reckless than it is evil
I was born waaaayyyy too late
__________________________________________________________________
I suppose the idea is to offer a "complete" account of LSD, in some sense, which makes the book feel disjointed, sometimes. But the book as a whole is immensely valuable and should give everyone who reads it pause before perpetuating outright lies and obscene falsehoods, from either perspective ("the government tells us the truth and LSD is evil and addictive and makes you go crazy and the CIA does important stuff to protect the good guys from the bad guys and doesn't use regular folk as guinea pigs and participate in drug trafficking and criminalize drugs to quell cultural rebellion and the government doesn't deliberately prevent therapeutic use of wondrous molecules that people don't get addicted to and don't have to use every day &c. &c." OR "heeyyy, mannn: acid is the truth, maannn").
There's some weird stuff in the reviews here about the "bias" of the writers. If understanding that LSD isn't Satan in his purest form counts as bias, then sure. If pointing out that LSD has enormous therapeutic potential and played an important role in a huge cultural shift, sure. But the writers go to great lengths, perhaps too great, to point out the not-so-great stuff that surrounded LSD use. LSD, the thesis goes, is a chemical molecule. Its moral value, in itself, is neutral. That is the very definition of an unbiased perspective.
I would like to see an updated version of this book/another book that covers the LSD boom in the 90s, the Pickard arrest and subsequent crash, etc.
Takeaways:
Humans are really weird ape-things and it's hard to believe the world isn't much, much worse off than it is
Timothy Leary was a complete jackass who ruined everything for everyone
LSD is not a magic molecule that will save everyone and turn them into peaceful, caring, loving individuals who will forever maintain peace on Earth
LSD is a remarkable molecule with a huge number of possible benefits and a very, very high safety profile in comparison to just about every drug your doctor can prescribe you (fun fact: I get prescribed amphetamines, which, along with heroin, played a role in absolutely decimating the hippie movement, especially the Haight-Ashbury scene, bringing it to an early end, and is correlated with the increase in violence in New Left circles and a massive increase in crime in the Haight; fun fact: children get prescribed amphetamines; fun fact: doctors hand out opiates (no better/worse than heroin) like candy, fun fact: doctors hand out benzos like candy; fun fact: fun fact: alcoholics and other addicts do not have access to LSD, which has been shown over and over again to aid tremendously in treating addiction; fun fact: alcohol, which is a few hundred times more addictive and destructive than LSD [but still something we can consume with regularity without hugely negative results (!!!!)], which is known to be capable of causing cancer in just about every tissue in the human body, is easily bought, even in the form of pure fucking ethanol)
the US government's drug policy is insane and has no sound basis in reality
the cultural narrative surrounding psychedelic drug use is bullshit in its purest form
the CIA was and probably still is up to really, really weird shit. There is a distinction between unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and reasonable thoughts about the kinds of conspiracies that take place every day at the highest government levels. The CIA, factually, experimented with LSD (and around LSD) to highly nefarious ends and in highly nefarious ways. The CIA was involved in the hippie movement in sometimes shocking ways
The CIA is more stupid and reckless than it is evil
I was born waaaayyyy too late
__________________________________________________________________
I suppose the idea is to offer a "complete" account of LSD, in some sense, which makes the book feel disjointed, sometimes. But the book as a whole is immensely valuable and should give everyone who reads it pause before perpetuating outright lies and obscene falsehoods, from either perspective ("the government tells us the truth and LSD is evil and addictive and makes you go crazy and the CIA does important stuff to protect the good guys from the bad guys and doesn't use regular folk as guinea pigs and participate in drug trafficking and criminalize drugs to quell cultural rebellion and the government doesn't deliberately prevent therapeutic use of wondrous molecules that people don't get addicted to and don't have to use every day &c. &c." OR "heeyyy, mannn: acid is the truth, maannn").
There's some weird stuff in the reviews here about the "bias" of the writers. If understanding that LSD isn't Satan in his purest form counts as bias, then sure. If pointing out that LSD has enormous therapeutic potential and played an important role in a huge cultural shift, sure. But the writers go to great lengths, perhaps too great, to point out the not-so-great stuff that surrounded LSD use. LSD, the thesis goes, is a chemical molecule. Its moral value, in itself, is neutral. That is the very definition of an unbiased perspective.
I would like to see an updated version of this book/another book that covers the LSD boom in the 90s, the Pickard arrest and subsequent crash, etc.