Why is LSD illegal?

Odd but similar idea.... when you are in pain management you get tested to make sure you are taking your meds, but your neighbor might be tested by the courts to make sure he's not taking the same drug because he got busted...... Wait, whut?

 

Excellent point most overlooked. As mentioned earlier, what would have happened if the prohibition craze hadn't taken off?

I just can't subscribe to the conspiracy theories. Especially as you worded it. Comes across to me that these various "powers that be" would have sampled all these substances from lsd to alcohol themselves and then come together in some big secret group and said "well, we can't have that". None of those *uckers know what an LSD trip is or they wouldn't support prohibition.
Doesn't fly for me.
But there's so much about drug policy that makes no sense that I understand the need to find some kind of explaination, anything.

What? Lsd, mushrooms, MDMA, Ibogaine, all have no medical benefits?

And if there's some vast conspiracy against psychedelics, why weren't all 2C's banned when T7 and bees were scheduled? It's not like the policy geniuses didn't know about them. They could have pretty much just added everything in PIHKAL/TIHKAL.

It's just ignorant, knee-jerk politicos doing "something, anything" to seem responsive to hysterical soccer-moms in my world view. A vast conspiracy might seem reassuring against the stupidity of drug policy, but it may be something much more mundane. Ignorance and political self-interest.

 

Voyage...... remember MKULTRA?

I was under the impression that that is exactly what happened. They got together, studied the drugs in question and tried to apply them to evil, and when they showed little evil potential, dropped them.

Of course, since then, it's just what you said, doing "something, anything" about any drug that appears. But this is because of the example and precedent set by those who had clear cultural, racial, and political reasons for their choices about drug law. In general, there is a concerted effort to eradicate cognitive liberty.

The way our drug scheduling works, there needs to be some evidence of USE of a chemical, or at least, danger of widespread use, before it can be scheduled. Lots of states have laws on the books for drugs that have probably never even been IN that state, but federally, for the DEA to do anything, they need to be a current threat, not one guy on the internet who says he's selling a compound that nobody has ever even taking with a name that uses half the letters in the alphabet and some that nobody's ever seen before. You need something that people know about, that the DEA has had time to fabricate "street names" for, that looks like a danger to the kids (and you know we've gotta think of them kids....).

 

Thats not off topic. It's dead on topic and echos the opinion of most reasonable libertarian oriented people. At least those that have read and learned something about the topic. Good comments.

 

....Fuck of I know

 

Certainly. I don't see as it applies tho. Yes primarily MK-Ultra was studying the possible use as a weapon of evil. However,
1) This wasn't above the board research by the government. It was highly classified, run by the CIA, and not subject to legislative debate and review.
2) The legit research that was available to public scrutiny was generally supportive of continued research and published much higher positive results than negative. Many people directly or indirectly involved in the scene testified and lobbied against banning psychedelics.

In the end, the legislative bodies, (some states including california, the first to ban it) and Congress banned it because of public outcry, fueled by sensationalistic stories, rather than facts. The MK-Ultra bullshit was hidden from congress. LSD was banned long before MKU became known in the mid 70's, it was hidden in black budgets and not subject to any government oversight. It was so secretive the CIA destroyed most of the documents before the lid was blown off by a congressional investigation.
It should be noted that MKU was just one part of a much wider quest by black agencies to control, brainwash and interrogate people that had gone on since the end of WWII.
As you said earlier, those who scream the loudest aren't necessarily right. And a handful of scientists and researchers don't get you re-elected.

 

Well that's totally true about how public outcry got it banned, but the CIA is well known for using agent provocateurs and that sort of thing. And they shredded tens of thousands of pages on the project, and there was at least one similar one in the same time period, we don't know how many people they put on what, where, it could have had a lot to do with generating the bad opinions and sensationalism that was used to criminalize LSD.

And anyways, if they'd found it to be useful to have available to the public at large, you can bet that the CIA would have had NO trouble censoring and impeding those stories, if not re-writing them to sing LSD's praises. There where top officials of all sorts, who clearly knew, very well, that LSD opened minds and turned those opened minds against their political pyramid games and the like, and that it was a major tool of hippies, yippies, and all manner of other dissenters. These officials told all sorts of blatant lies, such as the famous "orange juice" story, which was told in all sorts of variations by all sorts of people who knew DAMN well that it was a complete and utter fabrication.

Anyways, it's a combination of things, but remember, a massive amount of the fabrication and sensationalism about LSD and similar chemicals came from the same people who later voted to criminalize it, or from their associates.

check out DEA.gov, they're working on more of the same with a whole host of things. But they have to make a big enough stink about each one, individually, before they can do anything. They're the ones who enforce the laws, write the laws (check out the order, FROM THE DEA, to temporarily ban the synthetic cannabinoids, and all the rest of that jazz), and make the propaganda to get the laws passed.

 

Valid points, I just feel it's a stretch going from those points to "vast conspiracy". Randolph Hearst was involved in helping to ban weed and fanned the flames of hysteria through his newspapers. He was invested in the wood pulp-newsprint producing business and wanted to help destroy the hemp business. But that's different from having an informed opinion of marijuana by having researched it, trying it and deciding "we can't have people smoking that".
Again, in that case it was corrupt self interest. Same with Harry Anslinger.

 

I'm not saying there is some mass orchestrated conspiracy afoot, but as I stated previously, it was declared illegal in large part as a response to a segment of society that the governing powers deemed "undesirable".

But if you think back room meetings and shit didn't and don't have a part in drug laws you should give this a read;
http://www.booktrope.com/book/drug-crazy

It's a history of drug laws in America and very revealing of just how much "back room" deals played a part in our present drug laws.

 

Certainly there was/is alot of back room dealing going on, it is politics after all. Thanks for that link, looks like an informative read. A related documentary you might find worthy is "Grass". Focusing on how weed replaced booze in the prohibition craze.

Edit:
Gotta say Nox, half way through that book and it's pretty nauseating. I was familiar with some of it but alot of the stories I wasn't. Definately back room deals have always been a part of this mess, and some of it even smells of conspiracy between a few people but again, it all seems like personal political gain. When you see story after story of individuals and groups presenting facts and getting stomped, you have to wonder though.
Still, it just seems to grind on like a giant machine.

From the chapter on the courts:

 

well LSD is illegal because of the government being douche-bags.
Important note. Studies find that a chemical compound in Marijuana kills stage 4 cancer
LSD studies for medical purposes are being considered, there is hope yet, yes i have the audio files

 

I'll take LSD over the a-bomb any day...

 

Okay, I don't have any sources on me right now, but I can tell you a few reasons.
1. Hyperbole of bad trips & related suicides by the media
2. Fear of a youth uprising lead by Timothy Leary
3. Its association with marijuana, which already had decades of prohibition and racial prejudice against it
4. A Christian-European prejudice against any psychoactives besides alcohol, coffee, tobacco, tea, and sugar