Why is LSD illegal?

[commasense]

@Exapno Mapcase

But it was the first and I think only time “the government” went to war on a middle class group. J. Edgar Hoover had quite a bit to do with it, but it was not a full blown war until Nixon took office and expanded it. That’s why in political discussions you keep hearing the phrase, I thought Nixon was bad…

Still, drugs are more often banned in the country for political reasons than medical ones.

I believe that MDMA (aka Ecstasy) is another drug made illegal mostly because lots of middle-class people were enjoying it, not because it posed serious health threats. A PBS documentary on the history of MDMA I saw a couple of years ago pointed out that it was being used with some success by psychologists treating patients with intimacy issues. From Wikipedia: :

MDMA began to be used therapeutically in the mid-1970s after the chemist Alexander Shulgin introduced it to psychotherapist Leo Zeff. As Zeff and others spread word about MDMA, it developed a reputation for enhancing communication, reducing psychological defenses, and increasing capacity for introspection. However, no formal measures of these putative effects were made and blinded or placebo-controlled trials were not conducted. A small number of therapists—including George Greer, Joseph Downing, and Philip Wolfson—used it in their practices until it was made illegal.

In the 1970s MDMA began to be used illicitly, and got the nickname “Ecstasy,” but while it was still legal and being produced commercially, there were apparently few if any reports of serious health problems. As I recall, the PBS show suggested that the decision to make it illegal was a political one, based on the drug’s popularity and not on any known health hazards. From the same Wiki article:

In the United States, MDMA was legal and unregulated until May 31, 1985, at which time it was added to DEA Schedule I, for drugs deemed to have no medical uses and a high potential for abuse. During DEA hearings to criminalize MDMA, most experts recommended DEA Schedule III prescription status for the drug, due to its beneficial usage in psychotherapy. The judge overseeing the hearings, Francis Young, also made this recommendation. Nonetheless, the DEA classified it as Schedule I.

Ironically, the health problems became more common after it was made illegal, in part because the quality of the illegally produced drug was much lower on average. Also, the rare, but widely reported, deaths were mostly a result of people becoming seriously dehydrated while dancing at raves, and not as a direct result of the drug itself.

Furthermore, now that it is on Schedule I, it is politically difficult for scientists to make a case for conducting serious research on its clinical applications. Despite this, it is being studied for possible use in treating post-traumatic stress disorder.

There is a strong streak of prudishness among American lawmakers (and not a little cowardice) when it comes to drug laws. As Mr. Mencken said, Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.

[Musicat]

OpalCat, I would like to refer you to a favorite book of mine on this and many related topics, “Licit & Illicit Drugs,” by Edward M. Brecher and the Editors of Consumer Reports.

Yes, that’s right, in 1972, Consumer’s Union (!) put out this 600 page book on “narcotics, stimulants, depressants, inhalants, hallucinogens & marijuana, including caffeine, nicotine and alcohol.” It is the one of few studies I have seen with no particular ax to grind, treats ALL drugs equally and without bias, and has some startling and well-documented points to make.

One is that addiction, per se, is not necessarily bad. Just the need for a drug to sustain “normality” is not in itself evil; it’s the need to obtain large amounts of money to pay for it that causes the damage. They point out that when and where drugs are legal and cheap (and to be cheap usually requires being legal), addicts can lead very productive lives. Examples given are doctors in the 19th century, who had easy access to cheap heroin. The stereotypical addict of the 20th century – emaciated, thieving, semi-conscious, unable to function – is often brought about by the pursuit of an artificially expensive habit, not from direct effects of the drug itself.

The book suggests that many substances have been made illegal (in the US) often because of their perceived association with “deviant lifestyles”: opium with the Chinese, marijuana with Bohemian, Mexican, negro and other swarthy types. The fear of these cultures’ habits spreading to the general populace was just too much to bear, too frightening to investigate, and politically unwise to oppose. Look how easily (alcohol) Prohibition became law from similar roots.

The book has several chapters about LSD, from its discovery to illegality. Just to pull some quotes at random…The use of LSD was…encouraged and advertised by the antimarijuana publicity of the 1960’s. Marijuana and LSD were constantly (and mistakenly) bracketed together in government and medical statements. Official pronouncements repeatedly labeled marijuana, like LSD, a “hallucinogen,” leading people to conclude that the effects were similar. The fact that many of the warnings against marijuana were patently false helped destroy the credibility of LSD warnings from the same sources…The barrage of publicity that popularized LSD was intensified by a wave of prohibitive legislation. New York’s 1965 penalties for the “possession, sale, exchange, or giving away of LSD or LSD-like drugs” without special license provided for a maximum of two years imprisonment…The Speaker of the NY State Assemby, A. J. Travia, announced that the LSD problem was so urgent, he would defer hearings on the law increasing penalties until after the law was passed…I highly recommend getting this book, since I see you are interested in the subject. However, it is out of print, so good luck finding it!

[OpalCat]

interesting–thanks!

[Musicat]

I should have checked Amazon first, because there seem to be many copies of the Consumers Union book available, from about $10:

Licit and Illicit Drugs; The Consumers Union Report on Narcotics, Stimulants,...

Dated in some ways, but still a valuable resource. It omits more recent drug concerns like meth and crack, and concentrates more on the scares of the 1960s and 70s like glue sniffing, which in itself is a lesson on “how to create a drug menace.” The authors point out that glue sniffing was considered fatal, and therefore outlawable, before any fatality ever occurred or any studies done. There also were fears that glue sniffing would lead to a fate worse than death, homosexuality.

[ForumBot]

@Ins&Outs&What-have-yous

I looked this up on a website that sells reputable SD: a gram of 20x costs $80 if ordered from that particular site (PM me if you want a link) and that probably doesn’t include shipping. I can only imagine the cost of ‘schwag’ varies a lot depending on a number of factors. What would $80 get ya, maybe 1/2 oz or 3/4 oz of schwag pot? Would that not last a bit longer than one gram of the quick tripping salvia? Maybe a gram of 10x or 20x salvia lasts longer than I thought…I dunno.

A few years ago, ten grams of 10x could be had for $80. The website may have died since then, but I could supply the link if you’re really in for it.

[gonzomax]

Weed and LSD are illegal because those with the power to do so were convinced it was the proper thing to do. The people in power could never say why. The ones who convinced them probably saw Reefer Madness. There was a huge push to demonize all drugs which the less acceptable took.
The people who voted were as about as qualified as Sen. Stevens of Alaska to explain the internet.

[gonzomax]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6696582420128930236 And here it is.

[Oregon_sunshine]

Back in my younger years, I used to eat puddles of LSD a lot just to party. Sometimes I passed out, but for the most part it was a lot of bizarre fun.

:rolleyes: Of course you can judge from my posts whether this made me insane or not.

[scm1001]

I am suprised no one has mentioned the puritanical urge in all of us. When a subgroup are having fun by taking drugs (or doing other stuff) that another group for religious or cultural reasons feel they are not allowed to do, the second group will try and demonise the activity, and if necessary make it illegal. Happened at one time with nicotine, alcohol, sex, dirty dancing, and illegal drugs. The group will of course phrase their laws in terms of protecting morals, and health and safety … but deep down I think it is just jealousy.

Of course I may just be smoking too much hooch

[Rigamarole]

LSD is very potent and certainly not for everyone. Opal, surely you have tried it yourself, right? And I know you’ve interacted with the general public, when they (presumably) weren’t tripping on acid. And you don’t see anything wrong with making it freely and easily available to aforementioned public?

Not only does LSD pretty much put you out of commission with respect to doing anything mechanically or socially functional while you are on it (although in my younger, wilder days, I have driven under its influence, miraculously without causing an accident. It was still a very bad idea) but it does so for a long frickin’ time. At least 14 hours for the effects to wear off fully, depending on dosage.

Plus there’s the fact that most people are pretty insecure as it is, and hallucinogens are a prime way to magnify those insecurities a thousandfold, causing them to be shaken up in ways that can be potentially conducive to (I won’t say “cause”) some pretty grievous errors in judgement. Even if it were made legal, it wouldn’t take long before those audacious enough to peddle it to the public were sued into oblivion after a few people had a bad trip.

[OpalCat]

@Rigamarole

LSD is very potent and certainly not for everyone. Opal, surely you have tried it yourself, right?

Probably 50-100 times or so, way back in the day. It’s definitely not for everyone, but neither is alcohol. Hell neither are peanuts–those can kill some people! And if people want to file civil lawsuits over their bad trips, let them. I just haven’t seen anything bad enough to warrant the gummint stepping in and making it illegal (for what I would consider legitimate reasons.)

[rayarchiem]

I believe that LSD was made illegal since the use of the drug poses a threat to the establishment. LSD and other hallucinogens open a person’s mind to ideas that exist in a psychedelic state which are valuable to human kind but feared by those who find themselves in a position of power. These psychedelic ideas were manifested in the 1960’s by the hippies in an attempt to revolutionize society. The opposition was an establishment who had the power to minimize access to the drug which encouraged the revolution. The revolution from a world dominated by authority (Pisces) to one dominated by love (Aquarius) was of course not in the favor of authority.

With the help of their enlightened state, hippies were able to see the ideas which should be adopted by society for the transition into the new world age. They were not 100 percent right in all their methods, but they had some of the right ideas. The drug was made illegal to reduce our ability to achieve this state and thus keep much of society content with ignorance and continue to trust in the leadership of the establishment. The government has been successful so far; notice that we have not slowed the pollution on the earth and atmosphere, we continue to kill each other in warfare, and we continue to discriminate against certain groups – so things have stayed the same… Great

The drug is not the problem, implementation of psychedelic ideas is where the trouble lies. The concepts from an enlightened state are good but we need to discover how best to manifest those ideas to minimize the resistance and truly foster change and promote the evolution of our society.

[pool]

Wow this is like some Uber-level zombie shit.

[naita]

@rayarchiem

I believe that LSD was made illegal since the use of the drug poses a threat to the establishment. LSD and other hallucinogens open a person’s mind to ideas that exist in a psychedelic state which are valuable to human kind but feared by those who find themselves in a position of power. These psychedelic ideas were manifested in the 1960’s by the hippies in an attempt to revolutionize society. The opposition was an establishment who had the power to minimize access to the drug which encouraged the revolution. The revolution from a world dominated by authority (Pisces) to one dominated by love (Aquarius) was of course not in the favor of authority.

With the help of their enlightened state, hippies were able to see the ideas which should be adopted by society for the transition into the new world age. They were not 100 percent right in all their methods, but they had some of the right ideas. The drug was made illegal to reduce our ability to achieve this state and thus keep much of society content with ignorance and continue to trust in the leadership of the establishment. The government has been successful so far; notice that we have not slowed the pollution on the earth and atmosphere, we continue to kill each other in warfare, and we continue to discriminate against certain groups – so things have stayed the same… Great

The drug is not the problem, implementation of psychedelic ideas is where the trouble lies. The concepts from an enlightened state are good but we need to discover how best to manifest those ideas to minimize the resistance and truly foster change and promote the evolution of our society.

Funny how many people have arrived at and embraced these ideas without psychedelics …

[Amateur_Barbarian]

@naita

Funny how many people have arrived at and embraced these ideas without psychedelics …

Could you list a few?

[BubbaDog]

@Amateur_Barbarian

Could you list a few?

Frank Zappa, Penn Jillette, My mom.
What do I win?

[Colibri]

rayarchiem, we prefer that old threads in General Questions be bumped only to provide new factual information. Since your post is primarily your personal opinion, and this thread is very old, I’m going to close it. If you wish to discuss this topic further, please open a new thread in In My Humble Opinion or Great Debates.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator