# Timothy Leary : How did the authorities get away with such blatant abuses?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-leary-how-did-the-authorities-get-away-with-such-blatant-abuses/702269>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 23, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-leary-how-did-the-authorities-get-away-with-such-blatant-abuses/702269 "2014-10-23T18:26:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 17

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**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-leary-how-did-the-authorities-get-away-with-such-blatant-abuses/702269/17 "2014-10-25T08:23:36Z")

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> [@astorian](#):
>
> Leary’s son, on the other hand, said “My father was always more interested in drinking than in LSD.” Underneath all the progressive posturing, Timothy Leary was just a run-of-the-mill Irish drunk.

Didn’t know that.

Incidentally, research has been made into the subject of using LSD to combat alcoholism ([alas, .pdf behind paywall](http://jop.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/03/08/0269881112439253.full.pdf+html)). Looks fairly promising, according to pop sci write-ups such as [this one](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-17297714). Though I guess it didn’t work in the case of Mr. Leary. 😉

> [@handsomeharry](#):
>
> Don’t give a shit about Linkletter; just looking at the public perception of same. That’s why I said ‘cautionary tale’, not ‘the awful facts surrounding her drug-induced death.’  
> (I had already read the ‘real’ story.)

OK.

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