The Origins of Psychedelics
Synthetic Compounds Mimic Plants To Alter Consciousness
Part three of a multipart series on the origins and implications of recreational drugs. The hallucinogenic exploration of the Sixties began in both nature and a lab.
The category of psychedelics is comprised of chemicals that cause hallucinations, both visual or auditory, and are also called hallucinogens. This includes synthetic compounds, such as LSD, also called acid, and MDMA, the chemical known as ecstasy; and naturally occurring chemicals, such as mescaline, which is found in peyote, and psilocybin, the ‘magic’ part of a particular type of mushroom. The effects of these chemicals are considered as altered consciousness because of the dramatic influence they exert on the central nervous system and perception. They are not addictive in the common use of the word, but may have long-term neurological effects.
The natural substances have a history of being used in the religious ceremonies and spirit walks of native cultures. Their hallucinogenic properties were probably happened upon by accident and seen to be from the gods. The synthetic compounds are manufactured mimics of this process. Many legislative battles have been fought to acknowledge the traditional uses of hallucinogenic plants, such as the peyote cactus, while preventing mass legalization of their use. Some Native American tribes are still allowed its use during religious ceremonies only.
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide - LSD
LSD was created by Sandoz Laboratories of Switzerland in 1938 and initially introduced for psychiatric treatment. Lysergic acid is derived from ergot, a grain fungus that usually grows on rye. The chemical was tested by the British government alongside psilocybin in the 1940s and 50s and there is other information circulating that suggests research by other governmental agencies, including the United States.
The now infamous Dr. Timothy Leary was the bridge between a Harvard psychology laboratory and public recreational use of the drug. LSD was officially banned and criminalized in 1966 and listed as a Schedule I drug in the United States in 1970. It is also on schedule I in Hong Kong and is a Class A in the UK, but is only a Schedule III drug in Canada.
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine - MDMA
Ecstasy is infamous for being part of the club scene, or raves, and can be categorized as a stimulant since its psychedelic effects are often unnoticed. It is a psychoactive chemical called methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and was first patented in 1912 by the German pharmaceutical company Merck as an intermediate molecule in the synthesis of hydrastinine, a clotting agent. It was used as an adrenaline mimic in 1927 cardiovascular research studies, but was then shelved due to the high cost of synthesis.
The U.S. military used the chemical in animal studies during the 1950s to determine experimental lethal doses. In the sixties, like other chemicals, MDMA was used as a psychotherapeutic drug and gained recreational appeal until it was criminalized in the UK in 1977 and the U.S. in 1985. However, in 2001, research began again to investigate if MDMA may benefit those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) because of the purported feeling of euphoria it instigates.
Phenylcyclohexylpiperidine - Phencyclidine
Phencyclidine, or PCP, is the shortened name of the chemical patented in 1963 as an anesthetic by Parke-Davis and marketed as Sernyl. Because of its deleterious neural effects, including hallucinations, mania, and delirium, it did not have much use on the pharmaceutical market and was renamed for veterinary use in 1967. It was soon shelved, around the same time it began being used recreationally.
Similar anesthetics are now also abused recreationally, such as ketamine, which is a common veterinary drug. Better known by its street name, angel dust, the chemical is a Schedule II drug in the United States and a Class A in the UK.
(Part 2: The Origins of Heroin)
(Part 4: The Origins of Cocaine)
For more information see the DEA website and The History Channel’s documentary “Peyote to LSD: A Psychedelic Odyssey”.
