..and while many would like to blame sixties 'radicalism' for the often invoked cry of moral decline in american culture - the only true point of blame that could be pointed towards the sixties would be the attitude that while free love and drugs and musick and film were preaching the virtues of 'tuning in: drop out' many forget that all utopians endure when minds are gathered to endure and push forth:

because by the beginning of the seventies -- it was obvious that many of the soliders for peace wasn't prepare to adapt their strategies to push forth but instead became casualities to either the drugs or simply shunned the movement and signed up with 'da man' to score the promise of the easy life in the surburbs in exchange for compliance to the cultural ignorance krafted and woven into the cultural fabric of america once nixon was declared 'safe' following his pardon and resignation and jimmy carter's brief interm kept the current ruling juanta behind the scenes long enough to step forth and re-lease the new status that has an archon on every main street of the american mind - guarding the precious elixir of dreamscape from the revitalising stone of the philosopher's chant and whispers --

as the current interest in mdma by the government really needs to be looked as a means for mdma to be used for purposes of control and manipulation --and this needs to be kept close to the sleeves and cuffs to avoid the tactical error made by the late dr. leary....

New Scientist should know that LSD is readily absorbed through the skin and that Hoffman couldn't have "accidentally swallowed LSD in 1943." (Good god, a pharmaceutical chemist accidentally swallows his lab work. Has anyone at New Scientist been in a chemistry lab before?)

On the broader issue, I have mixed feelings about what (I consider) these psychedelic wedge issues. Medical marijuana is obviously a big one now. I really want to treat this as a civil rights issue, not a medical one. I suppose that some accepted use is better than none, but by placing it in the realm of medicine, the powers that be maintain a stranglehold that I think will be difficult to overcome. I guess we take our victories where we can find them.

I will note, though, that to my mind, Leary's alleged crime was to treat the use of psychedlics as a civil rights issue rather than be content to pursue clinical trials. If not for Leary's position dozens of clinical trails might have been permitted, and instead millions got turned on underground.

it was nice seing that piece in newscientist mag.
i agree that putting TLeary down seems a bit counterproductive to me. it seems like fashion to me, one day its cool, the next uncool, then cool again. as Jean Cocteau put it "the great thing about fashion is that it dies fast". in the long run, i do not know what Leary's contribution might represent. he is a popular figure, and i think popular figures can be inspirations. he might have been an exentric character, with his own faults and strenght. never the less i think he will remain an inspiration to many.
about psychedelics and their influence on culture, i'd love to see for exemple the Grateful Dead in history books. it was a huge influence on usa development.

peas.

I've found the recent developments regarding Vioxx and Bextra to be both encouraging and frustrating. On one hand, it is encouraging to know that patients are being allowed to decide for themselves whether the potential risks are worth it. I feel this could bode well for the development of future policies and attitudes towards psychedelics. On the other hand, it frustrates me because I'm afraid it will be a very long time before "the powers that be" are able to relate this same concept of freedom to otherwise illegal drugs.

If people are being allowed to ingest dangerous drugs after being educated about what the dangers are, why can't that same thinking be applied to the use of entheogens, many of which do not pose a significant health risk? I find it unfortunate that medical concerns are considered legitimate, whereas exploration of the mind and spiritual realms is not.

It is worthy to note that Daniel Pinchbeck, the author of Breaking Open The Head, which was excerpted in Disinfo's Book of Lies, also expresses resentment towards Leary for pushing things too far, too fast.

tim got caught up in his own notariety.he spoke too plainly about the power of what he knew.telling people to get off the consumer conveyor belt your first time up to bat is not a career move.status quos get pissy about things like that.terence mckenna said the same thing but used words large enough that the cops didn`t know what the hell he was on about!

Alistair, I totally agree. Leary was a threat, plain & simple. He took the trickster archetype to great heights on the modern stage of corporatising America, luring away the youth from a grinding eternity of labor and routine in service of the great god Capitalism.

Ceilede, vioxx doesn't make you re-evaluate your entire relationship to the world. I would argue that there are those in power who understand the direct relationship between pyschedelic use and a deep yearning for freedom, from economy, currency, authority, back to a more primitive aeon when time moved so much more slowly.

But maybe the short-term fix capitalists at Pfizer will forget about the riots of the 60's and put enough pressure on GOP lackeys to get a piece of that market share. I anticipate a future of on-demand prescription entheogens of all sorts and flavors, nanomodified to slip into just the very right receptor proteins to give that perfect high-performance high. And of course my corporate insurance bennies will leave me with a $10 co-pay for a bottle of 24 2CB-DMT tabs.

24 2CB-DMT tabs? Wow, you are optimistic. :)

I think by the time the legal code gets close to dealing with these issue more intelligently, the specifities of mind expansion via drugs will be greatly enhanced by legions of second-gen Shulgins releasing them to the world. The first age of open-source hedonic engineering and development will be unleashed, and there will be little anyone will be able to do about it. That and finely-tuned exotic cocktails specifically tailored for your your genetic/neurochemistry will become more common place. Of course this is right around 2012, so it's going to be an interesting time nonetheless. :) Oh boy, how fun!

Sadly, I think we are more likely to see the Schedule 1 psychedelics obsoleted long before their potential usefulness is seriously reconsidered. I have high hopes for transcranial stimulation.

we all long for a simpler time when we could survive at our own hand.we have steadily become more urbanised in our lives wether we live in a city or not.certainly the internet offered some of that back to us by allowing communication at greater and greater distances and a freer flow of commerce.we need our space,physically and metaphorically,otherwise we get bitchy.that means free from government,banks and dogma.i think psychedelics offer some of that.a litle break from the city pressure.room for insight,laughter and some healing.....ready to go back to the grind when we come back down.