Culture - Was Timothy Leary Right?

[enquirewithin]

from Time, April 24th, 2007


Thursday, Apr. 19, 2007 By JOHN CLOUD

Enlarge Photo
Illustration for TIME by John Ritter
Are psychedelics good for you? It's such a hippie relic of a question that it's almost embarrassing to ask. But a quiet psychedelic renaissance is beginning at the highest levels of American science, including the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and Harvard, which is conducting what is thought to be its first research into therapeutic uses of psychedelics (in this case, Ecstasy) since the university fired Timothy Leary in 1963. But should we be prying open the doors of perception again? Wasn't the whole thing a disaster the first time?

The answer to both questions is yes. The study of psychedelics in the '50s and '60s eventually devolved into the drug free-for-all of the '70s. But the new research is careful and promising. Last year two top journals, the Archives of General Psychiatry and the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, published papers showing clear benefits from the use of psychedelics to treat mental illness. Both were small studies, just 27 subjects total. But the Archives paper--whose lead author, Dr. Carlos Zarate Jr., is chief of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Unit at NIMH--found "robust and rapid antidepressant effects" that remained for a week after depressed subjects were given ketamine (colloquial name: Special K or usually just k). In the other study, a team led by Dr. Francisco Moreno of the University of Arizona gave psilocybin (the merrymaking chemical in psychedelic mushrooms) to obsessive-compulsive-disorder patients, most of whom later showed "acute reductions in core OCD symptoms." Now researchers at Harvard are studying how Ecstasy might help alleviate anxiety disorders, and the Beckley Foundation, a British trust, has received approval to begin what will be the first human studies with LSD since the 1970s.
Psychedelics chemically alter the way your brain takes in information and may cause you to lose control of typical thought patterns. The theory motivating the recent research is that if your thoughts are depressed or obsessive, the drugs may reveal a path through them. For Leary and his circle--which influenced millions of Americans to experiment with drugs--psychedelics' seemingly boundless possibilities led to terrible recklessness. There's a jaw-dropping passage in last year's authoritative Leary biography by Robert Greenfield in which Leary and two friends ingest an astonishing 31 psilocybin pills in Leary's kitchen while his 13-year-old daughter has a pajama party upstairs. Stupefied, one of the friends climbs into the girl's bed and has to be pulled from the room.

A half-century later, scientists hope to unstitch psychedelic research from their forebears' excesses. Even as the Clinical Psychiatry paper trumpets psilocybin's potential for "powerful insights," it also urges caution. The paper suggests psilocybin only for severe OCD patients who have failed standard therapies and, as a last resort, may face brain surgery. Similarly, subjects can't take part in the Ecstasy trials unless their illness has continued after ordinary treatment.

Antidrug warriors may argue that the research will lend the drugs an aura of respectability, prompting a new round of recreational use. That's possible, but today we have no priestly Leary figure spewing vertiginous pro-drug proclamations. Instead we have a Leary for a less naive age: Richard Doblin. Also a Harvard guy--his Ph.D. is in public policy--Doblin founded the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in 1986 to help scientists get funding and approval to study the drugs. (Doblin, 53, says he was too shy for the '60s, but he was inspired by the work of psychologist Stanislav Grof, who authored a 1975 book about promising LSD research--research that ended with antidrug crackdowns.) Doblin has painstakingly worked with intensely skeptical federal authorities to win necessary permissions. MAPS helped launch all four of the current Ecstasy studies, a process that took two decades. It's the antithesis of Leary's approach.

All drugs have benefits and risks, but in psychedelics we have been tempted to see only one or the other. Not anymore.

[enquirewithin]

This is the type of thing you might expect from Time, I suppose.

[Bajeda]

The article isn't terrible, but the name is like spitting into MAPS / Rick Doblin's face.

[enquirewithin]

It's good that Rick Doblin and MAPs are getting coverage in the mainstream, but the title is silly. It also doesn't mention the fact that Leary did do worthwhile research ino psychedelics as well. (It's funny how Leary gets blamed -or gets the credit for- all the drug use of the 60s and 70s.)

[Bajeda]

The problem with Leary is where he took the direction of his research ---> Out of the medical / scientific / academic realm, and into pop-culture, which is what helped spur the popular movement of psychedelic culture, leading to a massive spike in use and hence, eventual illegality.

Leary messed things up alot.

[Nagognog2]

Yep. Agreed. And I'd hope if another Dr. Tim sprang up - someone would please run him over with a truck. He stopped research for 40+ years.

But you must pity him. He came from the hallowed halls of Harvard. If you ever went there - you'd understand.

Timothy Leary: Scholar. Explorer. Victim.

He was the one of the main reasons I wanted to install a diving-board on the roof of the 10-story Harvard Psychology building in Cambridge. It truly was/is an Ivory Tower. It's located on the corner of Divinity Avenue. Go figure.

[stoneinfocus]

Wow, what a horror, what anrchy, popping shrooms and then crawling stupified into a bed of a 13 year old family member which had a pj-party.

What harm, what suffering, what a hell of Sodom & Gommorah.

So lucky, no mentally sick, and anachstists like Leary rule the world.

And Leary was mobbed, he was driven into the things he did, and he had no chance, other than to do what he could do, despite of commiting suicide and he did it the best way he could do it under the forced circumstances.

Psychological warfare works -the only thing that, despite of some drugs, works in psychiatry,..., one could determine with not too much effort and man-power, what one was to to say, when and to whom and in what mood he´d be doing this, and he wouldn´t even think aboput being manipulated, while doing what he´s doing.

even if he knew, he had no chance, becaus eif you life by teh rules of others there´s the onyl chance of your way and living by the rules as good as possible, which is for a revolutionaäry a bad way depending on his friends and support, which Leary had, luckily.

[Nagognog2]

What the heck are you trying to say, co- ? It made no clear sense. Please re-phrase in easily understood terms.

[Henfer]

the problem is, like always, people only heard what they wanted to hear.

Acid is not for every brain - only the healthy, happy, wholesome, handsome, hopeful, humorous, high-velocity should seek these experiences. This elitism is totally self-determined. Unless you are self-confident, self-directed, self-selected, please abstain.

that's what he said, but people ignored that and thought Alice is the shortcut-ticket to enlightment for everyone because it was that for some. nd, of course, everyone likes to think of themself as self-confident, self-directed and self-selected.

[Humanity]

Our 'age' is not less naive, it's just way more skeptical.
Shameful article.

Nag, for the first time I have to disagree with you (mustering the courage now ^^). I would like nothing more for a Tim Leary II. How he exactly stopped research is a mystery to me, wasn't he in prison for like 20 years and in exile for another 10?

And even if he did 'stop' research... we're all the better for it. I might be too young to argue with this, but hey . A good debate is good pastime.

Another Tim Leary would soften this heinous anti-drug armor that's been building thicker and thicker. Someone who again could fanatically prove that psychedelics can 'take you out there' - that's what we need.




[edit: too... tired... for nice... paragraphs...]

[Bajeda]

Originally Posted by Humanity

Nag, for the first time I have to disagree with you (mustering the courage now ^^). I would like nothing more for a Tim Leary II. How he exactly stopped research is a mystery to me, wasn't he in prison for like 20 years and in exile for another 10?

Maybe he took psychedelics outside of psychiatry and pharmacology into the mainstream of popular culture, making them immensely popular?

That raised the authorities attention for sure. And then after he had left research and moved into the realm of giving psychedelics out like candy, he got arrested, whoops. So what did he do? He proclaimed himself to be a demigod and started prosthelyzing psychedelics, further pissing off the government and estranging psychedelics from their medical origins.

He is the one who basically started psychedelics down the path towards illegality, gave medical research a bad name, and essentially stopped research in that field, leading many prominent psychologists and psychiatrists who studied psychedelics (some of the best) and wanted to keep a career denounce the entire area of study out of shame.

Good job Leary!

Originally Posted by Humanity

And even if he did 'stop' research... we're all the better for it. I might be too young to argue with this, but hey . A good debate is good pastime.

No we aren't. No, no, no, no!

Would you like to go take a shit on MAPS while you are at it? You don't seem to support it or its aims.

I, for one, think the renewal of legitimate inquiry into the realm of psychedelics in psychiatry is a good thing.

Alot of people could have been helped if psychedelic research had been able to continue past Leary's downfall with no problems, and we wouldn't be in this stupid pharmaceutical world we are in now where any mental disorder is a biologically based disease that you can treat with some lovely medicine doled out by whoever the industry pays to.

I don't know how old you are, but you really should think about this some more before forming rash opinions like that.

Originally Posted by Humanity

Another Tim Leary would soften this heinous anti-drug armor that's been building thicker and thicker. Someone who again could fanatically prove that psychedelics can 'take you out there' - that's what we need.

Another Timothy Leary would further estrange psychedelics from society, and increase negative attitudes towards them.

Not to mention that I think today's psychedelic researchers would kill the man before he could do anything of that sort. I can see it now, Albert Hoffman, Humphrey Osmond, Rick Strassman, Rick Doblin, David Nichols, Stanislav Grof, Alexander Shulgin, John Smythies, Abram Hoffer, etc., all coming out of their labs / graves with pitchforks and torches ready to slay the new Leary-beast!

To requote:

Someone who again could fanatically prove that psychedelics can 'take you out there' - that's what we need.

You should do some reading. Terence McKenna, Alexander Shulgin, Rick Strassman, collaborative works like Entheogens of the Future, anything published by MAPS, etc.

Leary's fanatical prosthelyzing got psychedelics nowhere besides into the mainstream, and it didn't help research in any way. Period. The last thing we need is another zealot to further demonize psychedelics in the eyes of those who don't have a clue and judge them based on the newest crazy-talking head trying to spread them in an uncouth manner.

[Trebor]

I agree that psychedleics should be taking out of a research context and allowed to be experimented with by the masses. Becuase lets face it, if we were to give acid a second chance in the labs of Harvard or Yale or Trinity, it'd be completely under the control of the state. Who would no doubht try to use it as soma for quelling the masses.

How could this be bad?

Well, it would become customary. Alchohal, in certain doses, is a great drug. It works well, again, in some doses, as a social agent, helping people get over their fears and meet new people and it has inspired a lot of the intelligencia such as Hemmingway.

But this is not without a price, the more socially acceptable a drug is, the morte people will want it. Siwm can't even go to a bar anymore without meeting some completely twisted individual who wants to talk to Swim about something completely pointless. But, if it were reserved for a select few, thus making it harder to ocme by, it could perhaps return to it's origins as the water of the sophisticated.

It's the same with acid which is a great mind-opener. Inspired, has other great effects etc. But imagine if it were sold over the counter: People tripping their brains out. It'd be the same for Swimw to walk through a wood and have some derranged hippy on a trip ask him to describe his eyes. But waht of cannabis you say? Surely that should be sold over the counter? And yes, I agree with that. The thing with cannabis is is that it seems to be an aid in the making of people smarter. Swim knows a guy who, under the influence of weed, can remember poetry he has read just once days after reading it.

[Bajeda]

I'm not necessarily saying that psychedelics shouldn't be made legal for all to use at some point. I'm saying that it is crucial that medicinal use of and investigation into the psychedelic realm should be kept separate from recreational and other individual use so as to avoid another disaster like the one Leary instigated.

[Nagognog2]

"Marijuana is the match. Heroin is the fuse. LSD is the bomb!" - Jack Webb from "Dragnet 1968."

I suggest a thorough reading of "Millbrook" by Art Kleps.

Dum De Dum Dum. Dum De Dum Dum DUM!....

[Bajeda]

Originally Posted by Nagognog2

I suggest a thorough reading of "Millbrook" by Art Kleps.

I haven't seen that one before, I might have to snag the last copy on Amazon.


Theres a wonderful video on the beginnings of psychedelic research in the archive if anyone wants to see it. Its focused on LSD, but is very relevant to this discussion and is an enjoyable watch. ----> Hofmann's Potion - LSD Documentary


Also recommended is this nice little paper by Ben Sessa, Can Psychedelics Have a Role in Psychiatry?

Alfa uploaded another good one a while ago, Second thoughts on psychedelic drugs.


Its good to know the history if you want to be able to develop a nuanced opinion of the situation today...

[enquirewithin]

Originally Posted by Bajeda

The problem with Leary is where he took the direction of his research ---> Out of the medical / scientific / academic realm, and into pop-culture, which is what helped spur the popular movement of psychedelic culture, leading to a massive spike in use and hence, eventual illegality.

Leary messed things up alot.

Leary was iresponsible and should have kept to researching psychedelics rather than popularising them and setting himself up as 'high priest' (however tongue-in-cheek that was). Being 'credited' with so much would pleased suited his over-developed ego, but I can't believe that LSD would not have been banned anyway, that it would not have become popular anyway had he not existed.

[Nagognog2]

True ^^^. Leary wasn't the utter causative factor in the social equation. LSD was known to "open the doors of perception" due to the writings of many people. It would have been nailed without the workings of Dr. Tim in his Margarine Palace. He simply hastened it's demise.

The powers that were/are could not bear to see their idiocy layed bare so simply as by swallowing a pill. And they still can't. Not with important matters at hand like convincing the American people that the Iraqi war is vital to win for national security.

<this was written when G. Bush's positive rating had dropped to 22% in support>

[enquirewithin]

^Leary probably did hasten the demise of psychedelics and made problems for research specifically. Other people we we might point a finger at include Owsley and Cassiday/ Kesey. Leary was shamefully victimised as well-- he did not deserve 27 years in prison.

MAPs are very happy with this article:

...something quite rare -- a remarkably positive article about the renewal of psychedelic research that discusses MAPS in favorable terms, in that classic example of mainstream magazines, Time.

Last month, MAPS President Rick Doblin was loosely compared by the DEA’s lawyers to Pablo Escobar. This week, Time magazine calls him "Timothy Leary for a less naive age" and describes MAPS' strategy as "the antithesis of Leary's approach." The article explains that “Doblin has painstakingly worked with intensely skeptical federal authorities to win necessary permissions. MAPS helped launch all four of the current Ecstasy studies, a process that took two decades.”

The article ends resoundingly: “All drugs have benefits and risks, but in psychedelics we have been tempted to see only one or the other. Not anymore.”

It's a good sign when the DEA itself sounds paranoid and Time is laudatory.

[Henfer]

just like mandela didn't deserve being almost his whole life in prison...
like hofmann's potion documented, the only thing leary achieved in the 60's was that Alice may not be used in research but was widely used on the streets, till it was banned.. and all the myth's started.

swim 's pretty sure, even if Alice was fully legal today, not many people would use it. it's also pretty easy to use and abuse valium and to get it legally, or some non-scheduled opiat mixtures, and again, people don't do it.

the world of the 60's was largely uninformed about Alice and that it's not the shortcut to enlightement for everyone (means, you still have to think yourself and transfer your cognitions of the trip to your actual life), at least not at a party.

maybe this is just swim, but there are almost none negative reportages about Alice anymore...every reportage swim has seen in the past 5 years showed some negative AND some positive sides of her...maybe a shift in paradigm can be achieved in the not-so-far future.

at least, swim would gladly go to a psychatrist and get a license for Alice recreational usage after being tested or something. maybe swim should just tell his boss where the suddenly appeared motivation and love for life came from and his energy and love for his work, as his company has pretty big influence and would pressure LSD to be free just to turn on their workers hehehe.....

ah... daydreaming...

also, the prof in the movie linked here said it pretty much right: the army experimented with LSD on their soldiers, and the first thing they did after a trip is moving out of the army. ONE enlighting, positive, energetic trip for every political leader in the world, under professional psychological supervision, and people WOULD change. if you see the incredible beautiness of the world and life itself... why would you want to destroy it anymore?

again... just daydreaming....

swim talked with a good friend several days ago, with whom he smoked more than just one pot, and guess what, that guy is a police officer now... and even he says, and his colleagues somehow agree, that they do not have real intentions to track down people who trip some time at home and that LSD is not anywhere near being a problem drug despite what people say... way less than, for example, the most "endangering" drug that's around here right now, that would be meth....

at least it's good to know that the NEW generation of cops isn't so narrow minded anymore... but just fyi, swim does not come from the USA, so that can be a whole different story for you if you come from there. oh, and it's not the netherlands

[420sublime420]

bajeda, you actually just changed the way i view Leary. Thanks for clearing my naive little mind. If he wouldn't of brought so much attention to these drugs, we may have been able to purchase a 2 liter bottle of LSD at our local CVS for $5!

[rodent]

bajeda, you actually just changed the way i view Leary. Thanks for clearing my naive little mind. If he wouldn't of brought so much attention to these drugs, we may have been able to purchase a 2 liter bottle of LSD at our local CVS for $5!

I don't think that is at all what Bajeda or anyone was saying about Leary.
Many people spoke highly & loudly about LSD and the other psychedelics... Leary was just the one who said the most outrageous things and got the most attention, positive and negative.

In my opinion, with or without Leary's antics, LSD would still be where it's at right now. LSD caused it's own sensation... Tim just said 'hey look' the loudest.

[Alicia]

And to think she kinda liked Leary, is there anything he contributed that was useful or even remotely positive?

swia if she remembers right when reading about the results of the psilocybin prison project which had some success.

[chAos]

Originally Posted by Alicia

And to think she kinda liked Leary, is there anything he contributed that was useful or even remotely positive?

I don't know for sure, but Leary was a respected researcher before he started his lsd cult. So probably he has done some usefull research before that.

Also, without people like Leary we probably would have never heard about LSD.

[Nagognog2]

Leary was a quasi-respected Harvard psych. amongst many others. Backstabbing. Clamoring up the ladders for promotions and funding. Kissing the asshole in charge - all the good games a Harvard psyche. was expected to play - Dr. Tim did. And then he broke the rules...BIG time!

[Heretic.Ape.]

I've always had a love/hate relationship with Leary. He is like a gravity well in psychedelia, given much more credit than deserved. As a psycholigical researcher I have a kneejerk reaction against his role in the demise of research in the field I am most interested in. As a professional he should have been more responsible, you don't go around telling everyone to take powerful psychoactive substances without prerequisite knowlege, preparation, and, ideally, (especially him being a psychologist) supervision.
I can understand and sympathize with his exuberance and desire to share what he considered a very valuable experience/tool, but his approach was adolescent in its mindset. Perhaps this is why it attracted so many adolescents instead of a more mature audience that would have benefited more, been more responsible, and perhaps been able to avoid the downfall of these substances. I hate elitism, but I doubt the apropriateness of psychedelic use by the masses. In my opinion they should be allowed upon completion of certain courses comprising a certification.