A Social History and Analysis of the Lsd Controversy

Abstract

The evolution of LSD use and the controversy surrounding it are reviewed. LSD is treated as a powerful drug whose mind-revealing effects embodied the potential for both psychological harm and personal insight. Predominant motives for LSD use appear to have shifted from desire for self-exploration to a desire for fun. Early LSD use, stimulated by curiosity and adventure seeking, focused on the personal, existential, and spiritual insights attributed (sometimes erroneously) to the drug. Opposition to LSD developed as LSD became a focus or symbol for generational conflict, parental worries, political dissent, irrational behavior and violence, personal cognitive dissonance, and threat to traditional values and institutions. LSD use declined because changes in the social conditions confronting youth created a desire for a type of drug experience LSD was ill-suited to provide, and because changes in users' attitudes and preparations changed the nature of the LSD experience. The relation of drug preference to social conditions, the attributional biases concerning drugs, and the similarities between LSD proponents' and opponents' behavior are discussed.