Psychedelic drugs, hippie counterculture, speed and phenobarbital treatment of sedative-hypnotic dependence: a journey to the Haight Ashbury in the Sixties.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 2011 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2011.587708 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Addiction |
| Citations | 22 |
| Key points | Argues that the hippie counterculture and political activists in the 1960s differed in their goals, with activists seeking to change mainstream culture while hippies aimed to develop a separate culture, and recounts the origin of a barbiturate withdrawal protocol in the Haight-Ashbury. |
Abstract
The 1960s were a time of social upheaval, wars, vibrant creativity and missed opportunity. Mainstream culture and a psychedelic drug-using counterculture shared a belief in "better living through chemistry'," but they disagreed about the particular chemistry. The Vietnam war and the cold war with the Soviet Union, racial discrimination, and gender roles fueled political activism. "Yes we can" was not a slogan of the time but political activists clearly believed they could change the beliefs, attitudes and behavior of mainstream culture; and they did. Hippie counterculture on the other hand was largely alienated and strove primarily to develop a separate culture with its own mores, beliefs and lifestyles. Although there was some overlap between hippies and activists, hippies didn't generally have the same sense of political empowerment. Hippie enclaves developed in New York; Boston; Seattle; Austin, Texas and elsewhere; but the epicenter was arguably the Haight-Asbury District of San Francisco. Psychedelic drugs, marijuana and the Vietnam war were among many wedge issues. This paper conjures up a personal history related to the evolution of the hippie counterculture, changing drug use patterns in the Haight-Ashbury, and the origins of a technique of withdrawing patients from barbiturates and other sedative-hypnotics using phenobarbital variously known as the "Phenobarbital Withdrawal Protocol, or the "Smith and Wesson Protocol."
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelics as Medicines: An Emerging New Paradigm General population | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Restructuring reward processing with Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement: novel therapeutic mechanisms to remediate hedonic dysregulation in addiction, stress, and pain. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ayahuasca’s entwined efficacy: An ethnographic study of ritual healing from ‘addiction’ | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Hypotheses Regarding the Mechanisms of Ayahuasca in the Treatment of Addictions | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Biosynthesis of an Anti-Addiction Agent from the Iboga Plant. | 2019 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 12
- The Psychedelic Integration Scales: Tools for Measuring Psychedelic Integration Behaviors and Experiences Frontiers in Psychology May 23, 2022
- Narratives of the mystical among users of psychedelics Acta Sociologica January 11, 2021
- Pharmacologic Similarities and Differences Among Hallucinogens The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology August 1, 2021
- Co-use of psychedelics with other substances: Findings from the global psychedelic survey. Journal of Psychopharmacology May 1, 2025
- Psychedelic assisted therapy for major depressive disorder: Recent work and clinical directions Journal of Psychedelic Studies June 9, 2022
and 7 more in the library