Culture - Pickard LSD Case

I keep reading questions about where the LSD has gone.

The answer is, Pickard got busted. He was the source for over 90% of the world's supply.

He is now in the middle of the appeal process, having been sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

If you want to learn more, look up lysergic book or William Leonard Pickard in a google search. There are several websites with a multiitude of info.

[Creeping Death]

He's been scentenced to two lifetimes in prison? For what? What the fuck. He's an international hero if anything.

How come nobody hires a scientist and brings back the cid? It seems like a very profitable buisness.Edited by: Creeping Death

[Creeping Death]

Once i get a steady job and an apartment, i'll round up some cash and possibly hire a scientist for this. If it hasn't already boomed back. And i hope to god that it will.

[fishinabottle]

Once and for all: Pickard and Todd may have been the worlds largest LSD suppliers, but they are also the greatest shame to the LSD family ever. Just making LSD is not a thing what makes one a good person.

And damn: Pickard got twice life as it´s obvious that there a some millions of dollars missing and they wanted to make sure that he will never ever be able to enjoy the money. Thats that.

[DrugPhreak]

"He was the source for over 90% of the world's supply."<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />
They busted them with about &lt;250gm (a true quantitative analysis never performed)of LSD and even if they cooked larger batches before, which they probably did stating this is the farthest thing from the truth. The DEA is full of shit as usual and has ruined these people’s lives for nothing!

Originally Posted by fishinabottle

Once and for all: Pickard and Todd may have been the worlds largest LSD suppliers, but they are also the greatest shame to the LSD family ever. Just making LSD is not a thing what makes one a good person.

Wut the fuck is that supposed to mean? You ever thought that maybe their good people producing LSD? Producing LSD is something only a few people kno how to do, probably something you'll never be able to do. If anything they where the one's who kept LSD alive. There's only 2 people in north america right now actually producing LSD. Give it some time, it wont be long before LSD is readily availible everywhere.

[lilsteve]

Does anyone really know why Pickard was the supplier of 90% of LSD in the country? It's because he was an informant to the DEA</span>. He was a stool pidgeon and ratted out everyone else, and when they had arrested everyone else, guess what: they arrested him.



Pickard deserves his sentence. What a rat. If I saw him walking down
the street I would stab him. He is no hero to the LSD community.

[ChemicallyBound]

I agree, LSD is very easy to make . anybody graduating organic chemistry can do it. Ohhh, you didn't? well I'm sure a couple thousand students just graduated this year alone in that field. Give it a rest, qualified people everywhere can make it. the ONLY bottleneck is finding enough lysergic acid amide precursors..........

[korky8097]

Im sure scientists would more often, but they go through all that
college, money, work, and what not just to get this far. Making
LSD means they will most likely lose it all and do double life in
prison because our government is like this. And is it really true
that pickard was an informant? It is totally true that lsd is
easily the most profitable drug if made in the right quantities, it
costs fractions of a cent to make a blotter, what can you sell a bloter
for on the street? For good acid people will pay well. I
hope it makes a comeback, pisses me off that right about the time i got
into drugs they got busted, not far from my town either. I think
im gonna drive down to that silo some day in honor of good old Lucy who
wanted nothing more than to wear those Diamonds in the Sky. If
the draft is ever reinstated, im becoming a hippy and dodging it, live the summer of love all over again.

[fishinabottle]

What you all miss is the point that besides making LSD it is necessary to pull up a decent distribution of the acid, and thats at least as hard as the making if not harder.
And more dangerous.

/fish

[ChemicallyBound]

Well the distribution net in the US was the DEAD tours, thats been gone over ten years now. probably explains why people think it is gone. Making it is easy,distrubuting it without getting fingered isn't. For all we know there may bea huge stockpile in OR/ WAsomewhere waiting for a psych tour to start so they can move it

[fishinabottle]

Making LSD is NOT easy.
Nobody with some brain left is going to move huge amounts of acid during the tours of certain bands as the information about the Dead and Phish is all over the net now.

fishthinks

[mrgrim66]

Reading the media accounts of the great acid bust in the missle silo... Man It just don't add up. Anybody know Leonard? Is he a good guy or a bad guy? Has anybody else ever gotten Life for Lsd?

[Lysergic Acid]

Do you know how many hits of acid he had?? Thats not even taking
into acount all the supplies they found to make it. Remember not
only LSD is illigal over half of the chemicals are to.

[mrgrim66]

Nick Sand had similar amounts in vancouver in 1996 when they busted him. The fact that he was the orange sunshine guy and a fugitive since 1974 would, imho,make him more pressworthy... I guess you can't trump a missile silo.


It's said that Pickard was associated with a lsd lab in oregon that got busted at about the same time. I wonder if they were related. I've found no info on the oregon thing.

[Pinkavvy]

http://www.freepickard.org/ has a lot of information including how to contact him in jail.

[asystole]

I'm surprised I haven't seen any "Free Pickard" benefit t-shirts or anything!

[mrgrim66]

Originally Posted by asystole

I'm surprised I haven't seen any "Free Pickard" benefit t-shirts or anything!

Exactly my point. Thisupper classprofessor of public policy who seems to have had his finger on the pulse of the world's LSD trade can't even get two hippies together to sing Kum by yah... something is fishy!

[akcom]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he has been convicted of multiple
drug charges in the past, which led up to his life sentence.

[BrandonAA]

What is an A4 pad, and dude if you think smuggling is for you just be prepared to go to prison for the rest of your life. Suppose that dogs can not smell acid, all it takes is someone to randomly search you and you are fucked. they look through all of your stuff, seriously and can strip search you and there's nothing you can do about it

[Pinkavvy]

Originally Posted by mrgrim66

Exactly my point.* This*upper class*professor of public policy who seems to have had his finger on the pulse of the world's LSD trade can't even get two hippies together to sing Kum by yah... something is fishy!

swim has been to many many festivals and gatherings that have had free pickard info, shirts, and stickers. swim has been part of quite a few drum circles dedicated to pickard.

just cause it's not mainstreem, doesn't mean it's not out there, yo.

[unico_walker]

Why have I seen occasional hate for Pickard? Things like "worst example of the LSD community" I mean WTF I have seen nothing about him raping puppies etc so where are these people getting their info?

[motorhead]

US: Life Sentences Upheld in Record LSD Case
by Robert Boczkiewicz, Special to The Topeka Capital-Journal, (29 Mar 2006) Topeka Capital-Journal United States
DENVER -- An appeals court on Tuesday upheld the life sentence of a man who allegedly used an illicit laboratory at Wamego, Kan., to become the nation's largest supplier of the hallucinogen LSD.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 against William Leonard Pickard in his bid to overturn his convictions and two life prison terms.

Pickard, 60, was convicted in 2003 in federal court in Topeka for his role in operating the lab from a converted missile silo. Authorities said the LSD-making lab was the largest ever seized in the history of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

He and co-defendant Clyde Apperson were proven "to be responsible for the illicit manufacture of the majority of the LSD sold in this nation," a DEA official said in 2003. Tuesday's ruling also upheld Apperson's 30-year sentence.

Pickard was a chemist and has a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University. He was a researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles who studied psychoactive drugs, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in a lengthy 2001 article.

The Chronicle reported that Pickard had been interested in LSD since the 1960s, when the drug helped launch the counterculture revolution. LSD was what Timothy Leary referred to in that era when he urged people to "turn on, tune in and drop out."

In his defense, Pickard claimed that over the years he regularly informed federal law enforcement of his research findings. The appellate judges described that part of his defense as "an unusual story."

DEA officials said Pickard and Apperson had operated LSD labs in New Mexico, Colorado, California and Oregon before they shifted operations to the missile site near Fort Riley in 1999. They were busted in 2000 near the site by authorities who said the two men had more than $1 million of a chemical needed to make LSD.

In an 11-week trial described as one of the longest in Topeka federal court history, they were convicted of conspiracy to make and distribute LSD in 1999 and 2000, and of possessing it with the intent to distribute.

The Appeal

Judge Mary Beck Briscoe, of Lawrence, Kan., wrote Tuesday's 81-page decision for the six-state court based in Denver.

The judges rejected all of the appeals arguments by Pickard and Apperson. They argued their constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated, that evidence seized should have been suppressed because it allegedly was obtained illegally and that prosecutors abused the grand jury process.

Apperson also argued he was prejudiced because U.S. District Judge Richard Rogers refused to sever his trial from Pickard's. Pickard also argued that Rogers improperly prevented him from obtaining evidence favorable to the defense and that Rogers was unfair.

The appellate judges said that a life sentence was mandatory for Pickard under federal law because he had two prior drug-related convictions.

An Internet Web site," freepickard.org," was established by Pickard's supporters, who said he "sends his thoughts toward world peace" from prison. Federal records show that he is serving his sentence at a prison in Victorville, Calif.

Pickard's attorney didn't respond to a request for comment. Federal prosecutors in Kansas said they couldn't comment because they hadn't seen the ruling

Reputation Comments on this post:

good artical

[raven3davis]

Gordon Todd Skinner was responsible and he is a total fucking creep. He deserves to be in prsion. He has supposedly tortured people by injecting them with drugs and has even been involved in kidnappings. Total loser who went narc to save his own ass for prosecution that should have put his ass behind bars. Thumbs DOWN!

Reputation Comments on this post:

well written post. adds information that many might not know, and is presented in a quick and easy to read manner.

[Toltec]

There's talk that John Halpern had something to do with Packard's bust also. Is this true, Steven Halpern was asked about it at the LSD symposium this year.