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Although most experts will say that psychoactive drugs have as a whole been detrimental to our society, they actually have had a profound positive effect on the world. First off, music would definitely not be the same as we know it today without the early experimentation of drugs such as LSD, Peyote, Mushrooms, and even marijuana. You can argue that the most influential band in the history of music, The Beatles, made their best music after they began dealing with psychoactive drugs. Also included in this list are such great bands as Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Besides music, psychoactive drugs brought about a movement known as counter culture. Counter Culture was a rebellious movement starting in the early 1960's and continued through the 1970's. Counter culture brought about a sense of individuality and unconformity to the government, which led to people thinking on their own. Also Linked to the Counter Culture movement are the literary works of this era. Many great authors have come out of this movement such as Ken Kesey, Tom Wolfe, and Jack Kerouac. The use of psychoactive drugs in the 1950's and 1960's has greatly influenced culture, music, and literary works because of its profound effect on the expansion of ones mind.

 

thanks everyone. i'm going to try to finish it tonight, but that may not happen. but as soon as its done ill post it.

 

ok, whole thing, its pretty long you might wanna skip to the conclusion. comments, criticisms are welcome



Although most experts will say that psychoactive drugs have as a whole been detrimental to our society, they actually have had a profound positive effect on the world. First off, music would definitely not be the same as we know it today without the early experimentation of drugs such as LSD, Peyote, Mushrooms, and even marijuana. You can argue that the most influential band in the history of music, The Beatles, made their best music after they began dealing with psychoactive drugs. Also included in this list are such great bands as Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Besides music, psychoactive drugs brought about a movement known as counter culture. Counter Culture was a rebellious movement starting in the early 1960's and continued through the 1970's. Counter culture brought about a sense of individuality and unconformity to the government, which led to people thinking for themselves. Also Linked to the Counter Culture movement are the literary works of this era. Many great authors have come out of this movement such as Ken Kesey, Tom Wolfe, and Jack Kerouac. The use of psychoactive drugs in the 1960's and 1970's has greatly influenced culture, music, and literary works because of its profound effect on the expansion of ones mind.
\tThe effects of psychoactive drugs are often unpredictable; it can depend on how much is taken, how the user's personality is, expectations and mood of the person, and also the surrounding of where the trip takes place. Some physical effects are high body temperature, increased heart rate, and increased blood pressure. “Physiologically, the drugs act as mild stimulants of the sympathetic nervous system, causing dilation of the pupils, constriction of some arteries, a rise in blood pressure, and increased excitability of certain spinal reflexes.”(Hallucinogenic) The user can experience hallucinations and delusions. The user's perceptions of time and space are altered, while colors and details are heightened and seem more significant. The perception of music, tastes, and conversations can also happen even though they are non-existent. The user's sense of movement and time are often diluted, sometimes it is sped up and sometimes it is slowed down. These effects can be very affable, but can sometimes nightmarish which results in a bad trip. The effects of these drugs can last anywhere up to eight to twelve hours.
The Merry Pranksters were the first notable group of individuals to habitually use psychoactives. Headed by Ken Kesey, author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the pranksters embarked on a nationwide journey. Originally the purpose of the trip was to travel to the World Fair in New York. They travelled the country in a yellow school bus which they painted in assorted psychedelic colors, they named the bus “Furthur”. During their journey the pranksters heavily used LSD and Marijuana, and they tried to introduce people to the drugs everywhere they went. They called these experiments acid tests. The influential band The Grateful Dead formed at one of these Acid Tests. The Pranksters stayed on this journey until 1969, when they arrived at Woodstock. The Pranksters are the topic of Tom Wolfe's book “ The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.”
The Beatles were the most popular and influential band to ever hit the music scene. “New cultural forms that were perceived as opposed to the old emerged, including the pop music of the Beatles, which rapidly evolved to shape and reflect the youth culture's emphasis on change and experimentation.” (Counterculture) The group consisting of Paul, John, George, and Ringo are still influencing musicians today. But suffice it to say, The Beatles most influential music occurred after they began to experiment and use psychoactive drugs. Many of the Beatles most popular songs are about drug use or were drug induced. The song “She said She said” was written to commemorate and LSD trip that John Lennon shared with Peter Fonda. “Tomorrow Never Knows” includes lyrics from “The Psychedelic Experience” which was written by well know psychedelic user Timothy Leary. The Album “Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” was almost exclusively linked to LSD, also songs such as Blue Jay Way, I'm Only Sleeping, Yellow Submarine, Flying, Strawberry Fields Forever, and many others.” A song like 'Got to Get You into My Life,' that's directly about pot, although everyone missed it at the time," McCartney said. Day Tripper, that's one about acid. 'Lucy in the Sky,' that's pretty obvious.”(McCartney)
\tAlthough not quite as influential musically as the Beatles, the Grateful Dead played a huge role in the development of psychedelic music in the 1960's. The Grateful
Dead formed at one of the Acid tests held by the notorious “Merry Pranksters”, eventually becoming the band for the acid tests. “It was at one of these Acid Tests that the psychedelic music band The Grateful Dead formed, and during the early, California-based happenings - the 1960s version of performance art - the Grateful Dead supplied the music; in essence, they were the house band for the moveable party.”( Merry) This paved the way for such great musical acts as The Doors, Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, The Who,Jimi Hendrix, and even the Beach Boys. “Their music, however, grew more psychedelic and experimental, perhaps due in part to writer/producer/arranger Brian Wilson's increased drug usage and burgeoning mental illness.”(Psychedelic) Although most of these bands have either broke up or died out, their influence is still felt today with bands like Phish. Phish are the most popular exclusively psychedelic band, but many popular bands today cite the psychedelic music movement of the 60's and 70's as strong influences on their music.
\tWhile psychedelic drug use was at its peak in the 60's and 70's, so was the idea of “counterculture”. Counterculture mainly started as a reaction against political conservatism and the United States governments involvement in the Vietnam War. The movement was commenced on college campuses around the country, and was helped by the American Civil Rights Movement. “The Free Speech Movement at the University of California at Berkeley was one early example, as a socially privileged group of students began to identify themselves as having interests as a class that were at odds with the interests and practices of the university and its corporate sponsors.”(Counterculture) Emerging from this movement into the national spotlight were the hippies. The hippies rejected the mainstream and wanted to be as far away from mainstream politics as possible. Most of the hippes of the era were into psychedelic drugs such as LSD, peyote , and mushrooms. They followed the words of Timothy Leary, “tune in,turn on, and drop out”, who wrote books such as “change your brain” and “Psychedelic Prayers & Other Meditations.” Counterculture was a huge influence on how people think of the government and society. It evoked a certain feeling of independence, and helped people think for themselves. With the protest of the Vietnam War and of the government, the counterculture movement has helped shape how people today think of their government and how they act on changing their government.
\tMany great authors have been produced from psychedelic era. Most notably is the author of the book One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Ken Kesey. Kesey's book was made into a very popular movie barring the same title. Many of Keseys writing have been influenced by psychoactives. “ While a student he volunteered for a hospital study of mind-altering drugs, substances that were to shape much of his life and work.”(Kesey) Kesey was also one of the leaders of the Merry Pranksters, who travelled the country in a schoolbus while using psychoactive drugs. Kesey also wrote four other books: “Sometimes a great notion”, “Sailor Song”, “Last Go Round”, and “ The Further Inquiry”. Another great author of the Era is Tom Wolfe, who wrote “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test”, which is written about the Merry Pranksters and their incredible journey across the nation. Jack Kerouac is also another great author produced from this era. He has written such books as “On the Road”, “The Dharma Bums”, “Desolation Angels”, and “Big Sur”. This era produced some of the best writings we have ever seen.
\tThis era of time in America's history is perceived as dark. People will argue that the drug-induced 1960's and 1970's have only been a detriment to society, but in fact it has had a profound impact for the better on today's world. Without the Beatles music wouldn't be what it is today. Without pioneering bands like Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, and The Who music would be going nowhere today. We need the mindset that the counterculture movement has provided us with, or we wouldn't have the courage to speak what we believe and think for ourselves. Our world would be totally different if we didn't have the free thinking minds of Kesey, Wolfe, and Kerouac. We owe all of this to psychoactive drugs. Yes, they have caused some damage to society, but they have also influenced our society in a positive way. The use of psychoactive drugs has benefited our society because of the influence of musicians, authors, and those who stand to believe what they think is right.