The Role Of Drug Culture In The 1960s

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While drugs are seen as a divisive issue today, in the 1960s they were much more accepted and widely available. It is during this time period that drugs that are highly illegal now were available and used daily in many cultures around the world. Many of these drugs, such as cocaine, were seen as a “cure-all” and supposedly helped with a variety of ailments. These are the reasons I find drug culture in the 1960s particularly interesting. I also think it is interesting how drugs such as acid and marijuana, while not technically illegal at the beginning of this time period, were still considered taboo and people who did these drugs were looked down upon. This disapproving opinion could also be due to the fact that it was often hippies doing these drugs and hippies were often looked down upon by mainstream society in general. One question I still have regarding the drug culture of this time is how …show more content…

In addition to this, how did no one realize the negative side effects of these drugs at the time? While not all of my questions were answered through our class discussions and readings of American Hippies, I undoubtedly believe that I still gained a significant amount of new knowledge about drug culture in the 1960s. The drug of choice among hippies during the 1960s was commonly LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide. Rorabaugh writes in American Hippies, “…[Ken] Kensey’s idea was to spread LSD so fast that society would not only have to accept it but would also be transformed… Ken Kensey believed that if he could flood the country with LSD quickly and democratically on a massive

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