People - Musicians on drugs

[BoredInFargo]

Just a quick query which groups are on what drugs and why do you think that ex. Lyrics or News.

[Nature Boy]

You can get all these lyrics by searching Google:

Black Sabbath

- The most obvious one is "Sweet Leaf" (marijuana).
- A lot of their earlier music has many references to psychedelic drugs.

Bob Marley

-"Easy Skanking" ---- "...excuse me while I light my spliff...
-Plenty of marijuana references in a lot of his songs."

The Doors

-Jim Morrison was reknowned for his excessive drinking. He used LSD and mescaline regularly. In his last years he did a lot of cocaine and heroin as described by Danny Sugerman in his autobiography "Wonderland Avenue".

The Grateful Dead

-Many of the Dead's members used all kinds of drugs from psychedelics to uppers to opiates. Guitarist/singer Jerry Garcia was known for using LSD, cocaine and later morphine.

Guns 'N' Roses

-Slash and Duff were infamous alcoholics.

Hawkwind

-During the 70s and 80s they toured around the world and did psychedelic drugs regularly inspiring their psychedelic space rock style. Many of their songs are themed entirely on drugs e.g. "LSD", "Reefer Madness".

Jimi Hendrix

-LSD and pot.

Led Zeppelin

-Practically anything they could get their hands on.

Metallica

-Hetfield and Ulrich were both big into drink and cocaine.

Motorhead

-Lead singer Lemmy is a famed drug user. He was kicked out of previously mentioned band Hawkwind in the early 70s when he was busted with what was thought to be cocaine on the Canadian border. It was later revealed to be speed. Started Motorhead who became a massive heavy metal/hard rock touring band who loaded themselves with alcohol, speed and cocaine. "Built For Speed" (speed), "Dead Men Tell No Tales" (smack), "Motorhead" (speed)

-Ozzy Osbourne
LSD, alcohol and cocaine.

Pink Floyd
-LSD, downers.

Rush
-LSD.

There are lots more examples of course.

[BoredInFargo]

any modern ones to add?

i got green day bein speeders cause of that one song where he talks bout bein "tripped out and spun out in my room"

not sure but Bam seems to be on the speed band wagon too and brian dicamillo is definitly on some good shit if you've ever seen him on the show

[enquirewithin]

[quote=nature_boy_liam

Motorhead who became a massive heavy metal/hard rock touring band who loaded themselves with alcohol, speed and cocaine. "Built For Speed" (speed), "Dead Men Tell No Tales" (smack), "Motorhead" (speed)
[/quote]

Just for the record, "Dead Men Tell No Tales" is an anti-heroin song. Lemmy drinks a botle of bourbon a day and likes sniffing speed. (As his book -- or rather rant-- White lines tells us.)

[Sitbcknchill]

A little off topic but kind of interesting:

DENTON (UNT), Texas -- Musicians and drugs are frequently portrayed together. Mass media often chronicles the drug use behaviors and associated tragedies of high profile musicians. And according to University of North Texas research conducted at the Texas Center for Music and Medicine, most musicians see and believe this correlation.

Health professionals and the music industry are concerned because of the causal link between the perception of drug use and the development of actual use.

In a nationwide survey of 3,130 musicians conducted nationwide, a team of researchers at the Texas Center for Music and Medicine found that almost one out of three musicians believe there is widespread drug use among musicians. Only 15 percent of those surveyed said musicians do not use drugs.

"Interpreting perception data beyond specific findings is very difficult," said Kris Chesky, primary author of the study and director of research for the Texas Center for Music and Medicine. "Theoretical perspectives between perception of drug use and actual drug use lead us to believe that younger male non-classical musicians may be at risk to begin or continue to use drugs. However, further research is needed to assess the relationships between musicians' perceptions of use and actual use," Chesky said.

The participating musicians said the specific drugs they thought musicians use are marijuana, cocaine and amphetamines.

In addition, the study showed that gender and age were related to how musicians perceive drug use among their peers.

Younger musicians and male musicians were more likely to implicate drug use, whereas older musicians and females were more likely to indicate they don't know. However, the level of perception of drug use depended on the type of musician responding to the survey.

For instance, about 20 percent of classical musicians reported widespread drug use, but that number doubled (about 40 percent) for non-classical musician respondents.

The results from this study, which was funded by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (The Grammy's), were released this month during the 1999 annual scientific meeting of the American Public Health Association. The study will be published in the December 1999 issue of the Medical Problems of Performing Artists journal.

Although it is not clear what influences contribute to the development of musicians' perceptions of widespread drug use among musicians, intervention programs for the music industry are recommended including health information and education as part of musician and music teacher training programs.

The Texas Center for Music and Medicine is a collaborative effort between the UNT Health Science Center and the UNT College of Music. The center combines the disciplines of music and medicine in order to develop successful strategies for dealing with medical and psychological problems of musicians.



Another article:
Performance Enhancing Drugs for Musicians?

Is the scourge of the professional athletic world rearing its ugly head in the music industry?

by Drew McManus
September 27, 2004

This summer’s Olympics games were marked by several high profile performance enhancing drug scandals. Several high profile athletes tested positive for banned substances, most notably several previously successful Greek and American competitors.

These banned substances allow athletes who use them to perform at levels beyond normal human ability and help them achieve record breaking levels of performance. The drug of choice in the spotlight this year is a designer steroid named tetrahydrogestrinone (THD).

The motive behind banning such substances is obvious; everyone deserves to perform on the level playing field of natural ability and training. However, given the competitive nature of professional athletics, it’s no surprise to discover that there are always competitors eager to obtain an artificial edge.

And professional musicians are very similar to professional athletes; they are constantly searching for ways to improve their performance ability. But unlike their athlete cousins, professional musicians can rarely benefit from artificially increased physical ability.

But there are other ways for musicians to improve their performance; by reducing performance related anxiety.

It’s nothing new for musicians to suffer from performance anxiety, otherwise known as “stage fright”. And up until the past few decades, classical musicians haven’t dabbled in performance enhancing drugs (the legal ones at least).

Performance anxiety is an issue that’s typically treated as a mental challenge, something more like “mind over matter”. Almost every professional musician has a technique or trick they use to help them remain calm and focused during performances.

David Lockington, music director for the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, espouses a technique he refers to as visualization, which helps him establish triggers to relax during performances; and for David it works well.

He says, “I visualize walking on stage, seeing the lights, and using all of those as triggers to relax instead of adding to the pressures.”

But some musicians have significantly more trouble obtaining those levels of relaxation and focus using mental exercises.

Stage fright is an inherently individual condition which some individuals are naturally better equipped to deal with than others. So what does a musician do when they can perform at a level equal to the best of the best when they are in their private practice studio but fall apart due to performance anxiety when they step onto the stage?

Decades ago, musicians typically found their answers in a bottle; bourbon, scotch, vodka, gin, take your pick. Alcohol has always been an easily accessible means to artificially lessen the rate of vital physiological activities.

But the pitfalls associated with that choice of action are obvious. Alcohol not only deadens a musician’s synaptic responses (which are at the heart of performance anxiety) but they also slow down cognitive and physical ability. Then there’s that pesky addictive side effect to deal with.

Better living through pharmaceuticals

In 1965 Wyeth Laboratories developed Inderal, the brand name for propranolol, which is an antianginal, antiarrhythmic, antihypersensative, antimigraine drug, and beta blocker.

In English, that means it helps treat the effects of anxiety or nervous tension, aggressive behavior, angina, high blood pressure, migraine, headaches, panic attack, phobias, schizophrenia, tremors, and to help prevent second heart attacks.

Inderal is not habit forming, may be taken for months or even years, and proper dosage must be determined and prescribed by a physician.

It’s obvious to see why many musicians have found this drug to be extraordinarily useful if fighting the symptoms of performance anxiety.

Some musicians who use this drug have experienced significant reductions in their level of performance anxiety which, in turn, allows them to reach much high levels of consistency in their performing. Best of all, it isn’t habit forming and side effects are rare and usually minor in character.

A question of ethics

If you ask a group of musicians (especially a string player) about their feelings regarding Inderal and you’ll likely get an ear full. Some players find it to be a god send which allows them to consistently perform at their best while others see it as an artificial crutch that eliminates a level playing field.

For example, two of the most stressful situations in the classical music industry are solo performing and taking auditions. Both are directly connected to how successful a musician is throughout their career.

Opponents of Inderal use claim that the drug provides an artificial edge to audition candidates, allowing them to win a position over a competitor that may otherwise deserve to win the job. They go on to point out that professional soloists that use Inderal create an artificial product that is not representative of their natural ability.

Proponents state that Inderal allows them to demonstrate the absolute best of the natural ability and results of their years of hard work. They claim the drug doesn’t enhance their ability to play their instrument, it merely allows them to display their natural ability.

One professional cellist I spoke with, who wishes to remain anonymous, swears that without Inderal their career would have never gotten off the ground. They said “Without Inderal I never would have reached my full potential. I’ve practiced just as long and just as hard as my colleagues. The only difference is they don’t suffer from the gripping fear I do when I pick up my bow in front of other people.”

Individual choice

Arguably, when compared to physical issues the world of medical science is only just beginning to learn about physiological disorders. Are they more alike than different? Are they a disease to be treated with physical and pharmaceutical solutions or should they remain in the realm of “mind over matter”.

It’s difficult to come to any sort of definitive conclusion. As of now, the issue of Inderal use among musicians is filled away under “personal choice”.

But some of the potential dangers lurking in today’s world are the ease with which anyone can order prescription drugs without first seeing their physician.

And although Inderal is not nearly as harmful as other performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids, it has been a prescribed medication for the past 39 years.

Since ethics is an issue usually left as an academic afterthought in the music industry, one has to wonder if we’ll all pick up a newspaper one day reporting that a conservatory student was found dead in their dorm room due to an improper usage of Inderal.

For now, Inderal will have to remain a topic that is limited to venues of personal debate and personal choice.

[Sitbcknchill]

Actors

* Cheech and Chong - Comedy duo that starred in several movies about marijuana use.
* Woody Harrelson - An activist for the legalization of marijuana.
* Johnny Depp - Depp has performed in a number of movies about the drug culture portraying Hunter S. Thompson and George Jung.


Artists

* Peter Max - Pop artist whose work is said to reflect the aesthetic of LSD use.

* Ralph Steadman - pen-and-ink and paint artist who illustrated Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and several other books by Hunter S. Thompson, as well as some similar art for beer bottle labels. His illustrations are much appreciated by members of the 'drug subculture' in North America. Among the British public, Steadman is well-known for his illustrations for the catalogues of the off-licence chain Oddbins.

* Alex Grey - Artist specializing in spiritual and psychedelic art. He has spoken openly about his LSD use.



Athletes

* Bill Walton - publically admitted to using LSD while playing professional basketball. Walton was hailed by Timothy Leary (on seeing him in the audience at a benefit concert for the Albert Hoffman Foundation) as being instrumental in helping LSD gain a wider social acceptance.

* Dock Ellis - famously pitched a no-hitter in 1970 under the influence of LSD.

* Ricky Williams - NFL star was suspended multiple times from the league for testing positive for marijuana.


Researchers

* Albert Hofmann - The Swiss chemist who first synthesized LSD.

* Timothy Leary - As a researcher at Harvard University, conducted experiments on the use of psilocybin and LSD. He was fired from his job, but became the best-known advocate for LSD use.

* John C. Lilly - Psychoanalyst who invented the isolation tank to study the effect of sensory deprivation on consciousness. He conducted numerous experiments involving psychedelics such as LSD and ketamine.

* Victor Robinson - Took and administered hashish many times and wrote about his experiences for a medical audience.

* Alexander Shulgin - Also known as "Dr. Ecstasy", Shulgin was a lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley, a biochemist and former National Institutes of Health consultant. He acknowleges having more than 4,000 psychedelic experiences in his life. In 1976, using a formula from a 1912 chemistry text, he synthesized the drug Ecstasy and provided it to a psychotherapist.

* Owsley Stanley - The first underground chemist to produce LSD. He was arrested with several hundred thousand doses which he claimed was for personal use.

* Paul Stamets - Famous mycologist and environmentalist with a particular interest in psilocybin mushrooms.

* Rick Strassman - Psychedelic researcher and author of DMT: The Spirit Molecule.



Scientists

* Carl Sagan - A respected astronomer and dogged critic of pseudoscience. He was an avid user of marijuana, even though this fact was revealed posthumously.

* Richard Feynman - One of the most influential American physicists of the 20th century, a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics. He admitted to having used cannabis and ketamine as a way of studying consciousness. In one of his books he describes how he started drinking but gave it up when he was tempted to go into a bar just for a drink.


Musicians

Although many popular musicians have used drugs or suffered from the effects of drugs, this list only covers those for whom drug use has become a significant part of their public persona.

* Grateful Dead - San Francisco based musicians whose tours are strongly associated with the use of LSD, magic mushrooms and marijuana by their fans. This became such a prevalent part of the Deadhead scene that fans trying to stay drug and alcohol free started the Wharf Rats.

* Jefferson Airplane - San Francisco based band, closely associated with the Grateful Dead, and Owsley Stanley, with such drug-related songs as White Rabbit and Mexico. Singer Grace Slick is said to have planned to lace US President Richard Nixon's tea with LSD when she was inadvertently invited to the Whitehouse by Nixon's daughter. Both she, and her guest, yippie activist Abbie Hoffman were recognised by Secret Service agents and turned away.

* Ween - Duo of avantgarde musicans whos albums White Pepper and The Mollusk are inspired by cocaine and LSD respectively and who are known to ingest psychedelic mushrooms, Rolling Rock, and Jack Daniels before most of their live performances.

* Bob Marley - Reggae musician from Jamaica. His album Catch a Fire shows Marley smoking a large spliff.

* Peter Tosh - The title track from his album Legalize It became an anthem for marijuana advocates.

* Sublime - Heavily influenced by marijuana, they have an association with marijuana similar to Bob Marley. Songs include "Smoke Two Joints" and "Let's Go Get Stoned."

* Phish - Jam band often associated with drug use, especially at their live shows. This is such a large part of their persona that there have been organizations founded by fans whose goal is to stop drug and/or "hard drug" use at Phish concerts (Inside Out and The Phellowship).

* The Allman Brothers Band - The magic mushroom is a sort of unofficial logo for the band and its members, past and present. Most of their album, t-shirt and on-stage artwork contains some design of a magic mushroom on it. Dedicated fans of the band are also known as "shroomheads" because of the band's apparent fondness for 'shrooms.

* The Beatles - Widely associated with the use of recreational drugs, particularly in their later recording sessions (from Revolver onwards). One of their most famous songs, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", is widely believed to be about the use of LSD.

* Cypress Hill - American hip-hop group whose better-known songs include "Everybody Must Get Stoned" and "Hits From The Bong". They often perform with large representations of marijuana leaves and marijuana-related paraphenalia on-stage.

* Willie Nelson - Country musician. Known for his marijuana use as shown in movies such as Half Baked.

* Redman - Rapper that is a well known bluntsmoker in the hiphop scene. Songs like "How To Roll A Blunt" and "A Million And 1 Buddah Spots" are related to marijuana-cigars in the lyrics.

* Method Man - Rapper that is a well known bluntsmoker in the hiphop scene. Songs like "Tical" and "M.E.T.H.O.D. Man" are related to marijuana-cigars (blunts) in the lyrics.

* The Shamen were notable for their song "Ebeneezer Goode", which was full of clear references to ecstasy and reached #1 in the UK charts for four weeks in 1992.

* Janis Joplin- Famous 60's female rock singer, who died as a result of heroin abuse.

* 1200 Mics - A trance techno group specializing in songs detailing recreational drug experiences. Their name is in reference to a high LSD dose.


Writers

* Charles Baudelaire - Author of Les Paradis artificiels: opium et haschisch

* William S. Burroughs - Author of Naked Lunch and other books that draw on his experiences as an opiate addict.

* Carlos Castenada - Wrote many books (now believed to be at least partly fictional) that discussed the use of entheogens by native shamans in Mexico.

* Aleister Crowley - Wrote The Diary of a Drug Fiend and other books dealing with cannabis, cocaine, hashish and heroin.

* Aldous Huxley - Wrote The Doors of Perception, a book about his experiments with mescaline.

* Ken Kesey - A founder of the Merry Pranksters.

* Fitz Hugh Ludlow - Cannabis pioneer, opiate addiction researcher, author of The Hasheesh Eater

* Terence McKenna - Wrote extensively about the use of entheogens.

* Hunter S. Thompson - Wrote Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and other books that revolve around drug use.