About

This site was created by Devin Rhodes, a senior history student at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. This project was created to explore the links between anti drug legislation and music by using the criminalization of LSD as a case example. Popular music has influenced the social moorings of American society since the beginning of the 20th century. This can be traced in the connection between anti drug legislation and popular music. This can be seen in the 30s with Jazz and marijuana just as it can be seen in the 60s with LSD and Psilocybin. The purpose of this project is not to glorify the use of psychedelics but to contextualize the journey from a chemist's novelty to a harshly regulated substance. The shift in public policy concerning LSD was based less on legitimate science concerning its application and safety and strongly rooted in conservative rejection of counterculture. The legal status of LSD traces a pattern that suggests that until LSD became synonymous with hippie culture its use was tolerated among academics and a limited consumer base beyond academia.

This project was researched by using a combination of books, articles, and websites. This project attempts to place the shifting legal status of LSD within the context of the 1960s society. The criminalization of acid came at a critical time. At the same time California and Nevada declared it illegal the psychedelic movement was at its strongest peak. The music of psychedelic artists especially the Grateful Dead played no small role in the popularization and mainstream exposure of LSD. Additional media from YouTube was used to animate the subjects of this discussion and give insight into their character in a way that escapes a text description.