The History Of Lsd And Its Effects On The American Counterculture Essay

After World War II ended, the age of baby-booming and urban sprawling began. During this time, many American soldiers came home from the war; married, and had five or six children. This created the largest generation ever. Could this new generation change the social world of America? In 1964, most of the baby-boomer's children were in their late teens. This was the beginning of a major social change in the United States. With the birth of rock-n-roll not far in the past, and a growing liberalism of the normally conservative American Society, it is no wonder that a powerful hallucinogenic drug called LSD gained so much popularity. LSD-25 was first created in 1938 by Albert Hoffmann in the Sandoz chemical-pharmaceutical laboratories in Basle, Switzerland. It was synthesized from the twenty-fifth compound of Iysergic acid. When first tested on animals, scientists had no idea that the powerful chemical had such psychedelic properties until Albert Hoffmann himself, involuntarily tested the new chemical. This "involuntary" testing of the LSD is the first time it was ever tested on a human subject; it was a result of Hoffmann accidentally intoxicating himself with LSD-25 during a routine purification process with the chemical.(3) After the experience, Hoffmann wrote: "Last Friday, April 16, 1943, I was forced to stop my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and to go home, as I was seized by a peculiar restlessness associated with a sensation of mild dizziness. On arriving home, I lay down and sank into a kind of drunkenness, which was not unpleasant and which was characterized by extreme activity of the imagination. As I lay in a dazed condition with my eyes closed, (I experienced daylight as disa... ...lso considered to be very inspirational to the hippies. Alan Ginsberg, a popular beat poet was a favorite of many hippies. Rock and folk music were also big contributors to this new movement. (2) In my opinion, the one thing that gave the most inspiration to the counterculture movement, beyond everything else, is the nationwide recreational use of LSD. LSD opened up the minds of the American youth, prompting them to explore life beyond the norms of society. It made people think critically about the information that is fed to us by the establishment. LSD was the tool to see through all the propaganda of the American capitalist's, and see the truths. The truth is what sparked many young people of this time period to stand up for their beliefs. Drugs like LSD seemed to be a good way to cure ones self from the brainwashing of American media and corporate bureaucracies. The History Of Lsd And Its Effects On The American Counterculture Essay After World War II ended, the age of baby-booming and urban sprawling began. During this time, many American soldiers came home from the war; married, and had five or six children. This created the largest generation ever. Could this new generation change the social world of America? In 1964, most of the baby-boomer's children were in their late teens. This was the beginning of a major social change in the United States. With the birth of rock-n-roll not far in the past, and a growing liberalism of the normally conservative American Society, it is no wonder that a powerful hallucinogenic drug called LSD gained so much popularity. LSD-25 was first created in 1938 by Albert Hoffmann in the Sandoz chemical-pharmaceutical laboratories in Basle, Switzerland. It was synthesized from the twenty-fifth compound of Iysergic acid. When first tested on animals, scientists had no idea that the powerful chemical had such psychedelic properties until Albert Hoffmann himself, involuntarily tested the new chemical. This "involuntary" testing of the LSD is the first time it was ever tested on a human subject; it was a result of Hoffmann accidentally intoxicating himself with LSD-25 during a routine purification process with the chemical.(3) After the experience, Hoffmann wrote: "Last Friday, April 16, 1943, I was forced to stop my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and to go home, as I was seized by a peculiar restlessness associated with a sensation of mild dizziness. On arriving home, I lay down and sank into a kind of drunkenness, which was not unpleasant and which was characterized by extreme activity of the imagination. As I lay in a dazed condition with my eyes closed, (I experienced daylight as disa... ...lso considered to be very inspirational to the hippies. Alan Ginsberg, a popular beat poet was a favorite of many hippies. Rock and folk music were also big contributors to this new movement. (2) In my opinion, the one thing that gave the most inspiration to the counterculture movement, beyond everything else, is the nationwide recreational use of LSD. LSD opened up the minds of the American youth, prompting them to explore life beyond the norms of society. It made people think critically about the information that is fed to us by the establishment. LSD was the tool to see through all the propaganda of the American capitalist's, and see the truths. The truth is what sparked many young people of this time period to stand up for their beliefs. Drugs like LSD seemed to be a good way to cure ones self from the brainwashing of American media and corporate bureaucracies.