Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:06,644 --> 00:00:10,227
(haunting, ethereal music)
2
00:00:32,744 --> 00:00:33,577
(liquid drop)
3
00:00:33,577 --> 00:00:37,160
(haunting, ethereal music)
4
00:01:14,253 --> 00:01:17,080
(seagulls cawing)
5
00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:20,663
(haunting, ethereal music)
6
00:01:33,626 --> 00:01:34,459
- [Voiceover] The fraction
7
00:01:34,459 --> 00:01:37,626
of a milligram and everything changes.
8
00:01:38,477 --> 00:01:41,644
A molecule that alters our perception.
9
00:01:46,665 --> 00:01:50,356
Once experienced, it
can never be forgotten.
10
00:01:50,356 --> 00:01:53,606
(deep, haunting music)
11
00:02:19,734 --> 00:02:22,484
(birds chirping)
12
00:02:55,076 --> 00:02:58,326
(slow, ethereal music)
13
00:03:09,043 --> 00:03:11,055
- [Voiceover] It began
on the 16th of April,
14
00:03:11,055 --> 00:03:12,722
1943 in Switzerland.
15
00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,111
Undisturbed by the terror
of the Second World War,
16
00:03:18,111 --> 00:03:20,798
chemist Albert Hofmann,
was exploring medicine
17
00:03:20,798 --> 00:03:21,930
for blood circulation.
18
00:03:21,930 --> 00:03:24,763
(liquid dripping)
19
00:03:26,215 --> 00:03:28,612
This young father had found his job
20
00:03:28,612 --> 00:03:32,068
of a lifetime at the Basel Sandoz Company.
21
00:03:32,068 --> 00:03:35,651
(haunting, ethereal music)
22
00:03:49,419 --> 00:03:52,060
But on that day in
April, he must have come
23
00:03:52,060 --> 00:03:55,310
into contact with an unknown substance.
24
00:03:59,929 --> 00:04:02,306
Three days later, Albert Hofmann decided
25
00:04:02,306 --> 00:04:04,389
to experiment on himself.
26
00:04:06,053 --> 00:04:10,220
Being a cautious scientist,
he took a very weak dosage.
27
00:04:11,636 --> 00:04:13,159
But this substance was far stronger
28
00:04:13,159 --> 00:04:17,785
than anything known in
science research to date.
29
00:04:17,785 --> 00:04:21,952
His first self-experiment
was a trip into the unknown.
30
00:05:44,485 --> 00:05:48,068
(haunting, wondrous music)
31
00:05:52,295 --> 00:05:56,462
(background noise drowns out other noise)
32
00:06:03,615 --> 00:06:04,448
- [Voiceover] I believe
33
00:06:04,448 --> 00:06:07,348
that every healthy person should try it.
34
00:06:07,348 --> 00:06:08,935
- [Voiceover] What happens
to you when you take a dose
35
00:06:08,935 --> 00:06:11,935
of this strange new drug called LSD?
36
00:06:13,349 --> 00:06:14,764
- [Voiceover] In less than two hours,
37
00:06:14,764 --> 00:06:18,579
LSD will be (background
noise drowns out other noise)
38
00:06:18,579 --> 00:06:21,319
- [Voiceover] Now, as a
volunteer testing subject,
39
00:06:21,319 --> 00:06:23,732
his training is worthless.
40
00:06:23,732 --> 00:06:27,899
(rushing, haunting and ethereal music)
41
00:06:55,357 --> 00:06:56,581
- [Voiceover] Albert Hoffman worked
42
00:06:56,581 --> 00:07:00,573
in his natural science
laboratory with ergot.
43
00:07:00,573 --> 00:07:04,323
It's a black fungus that
grows mostly on rye.
44
00:07:05,266 --> 00:07:07,437
Ergot has been known in natural medicines
45
00:07:07,437 --> 00:07:09,270
since the Middle Ages.
46
00:07:14,262 --> 00:07:17,948
But one of the new substances
he isolated did not affect
47
00:07:17,948 --> 00:07:20,056
the circulatory system as expected,
48
00:07:20,056 --> 00:07:22,473
but the human psyche instead,
49
00:07:23,446 --> 00:07:26,113
lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD,
50
00:07:51,449 --> 00:07:54,453
After first clinical tests in Switzerland,
51
00:07:54,453 --> 00:07:58,659
Sandoz decided to release
LSD for production,
52
00:07:58,659 --> 00:08:01,323
and the novel drug
attracted enormous interest
53
00:08:01,323 --> 00:08:04,490
from psychiatrists all over the world.
54
00:08:05,968 --> 00:08:08,718
(train chugging)
55
00:08:09,981 --> 00:08:12,259
(train whistle blowing)
56
00:08:12,259 --> 00:08:15,813
- Sandoz saw the opportunity
to offer something
57
00:08:15,813 --> 00:08:17,506
quite amazing to the psychiatric
58
00:08:17,506 --> 00:08:20,120
and psychological circulars, so they were
59
00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:22,703
actually sending samples of LSD
60
00:08:23,548 --> 00:08:26,368
to universities' research institutes,
61
00:08:26,368 --> 00:08:30,002
individual therapies,
and they were asking,
62
00:08:30,002 --> 00:08:32,197
"Would you work with
it and give us feedback
63
00:08:32,197 --> 00:08:36,599
"if there's any legitimate
use for this substance?"
64
00:08:36,599 --> 00:08:40,516
So it came to The
Psychiatric Clinic in Prague.
65
00:08:41,558 --> 00:08:43,891
(footsteps)
66
00:08:45,306 --> 00:08:47,934
My first LSD experience
was extremely powerful.
67
00:08:47,934 --> 00:08:52,154
It really completely changed
my life professionally,
68
00:08:52,154 --> 00:08:53,821
and also personally.
69
00:08:54,741 --> 00:08:58,401
And I said, "This is by far
the most interesting thing you
70
00:08:58,401 --> 00:09:00,468
can do when you're a
psychiatrist is to study
71
00:09:00,468 --> 00:09:03,264
these non-ordinary
states of consciousness."
72
00:09:03,264 --> 00:09:06,264
So this is what happened in the last
73
00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:10,564
over 50 years.
74
00:09:10,564 --> 00:09:13,547
Whatever I did professionally,
in one way or another,
75
00:09:13,547 --> 00:09:16,964
was related to these non-ordinary states.
76
00:09:24,326 --> 00:09:27,821
As I was sitting in session
after session with artists,
77
00:09:27,821 --> 00:09:31,488
with professionals, and
writing the reports.
78
00:10:00,020 --> 00:10:03,692
In the early years of the
experimentation, we thought
79
00:10:03,692 --> 00:10:07,692
about the LSD session as
experimental psychosis.
80
00:10:08,590 --> 00:10:11,511
(speaking foreign language)
81
00:10:11,511 --> 00:10:15,028
That somehow pharmacologically
we create some kind
82
00:10:15,028 --> 00:10:18,328
of phantasmagoria that
happens to be similar
83
00:10:18,328 --> 00:10:21,496
to what psychotic patients experience,
84
00:10:21,496 --> 00:10:23,967
so it was a model of psychosis.
85
00:10:23,967 --> 00:10:26,717
(hypnotic music)
86
00:10:35,374 --> 00:10:38,574
And if we can somehow identify
what's happening there,
87
00:10:38,574 --> 00:10:40,895
we'll be able also to find a substance
88
00:10:40,895 --> 00:10:43,830
that would neutralize
it, so that people have
89
00:10:43,830 --> 00:10:45,830
a test tube solution for
90
00:10:47,191 --> 00:10:49,425
the most important problem
91
00:10:49,425 --> 00:10:53,088
in psychiatry, you know,
schizophrenia, and other psychoses,
92
00:10:53,088 --> 00:10:56,834
which would be like a
Holy Grail in psychiatry.
93
00:10:56,834 --> 00:11:00,251
(trippy, hypnotic music)
94
00:11:37,838 --> 00:11:41,255
(trippy, hypnotic music)
95
00:11:47,983 --> 00:11:48,925
- Three drops of
96
00:11:48,925 --> 00:11:51,971
this colorless, odorless tasteless liquid
97
00:11:51,971 --> 00:11:55,167
would put you out of your mind for hours.
98
00:11:55,167 --> 00:11:58,812
If you haven't heard of LSD, you will.
99
00:11:58,812 --> 00:12:03,327
Impregnating sugar cubes is
a common black market form.
100
00:12:03,327 --> 00:12:06,278
Sometimes a dose for a
dozen is counted invisibly
101
00:12:06,278 --> 00:12:08,236
in a piece of blotting paper.
102
00:12:08,236 --> 00:12:11,321
An effective dose is incredibly small.
103
00:12:11,321 --> 00:12:14,654
These cubes contain only 150 micrograms.
104
00:12:16,258 --> 00:12:17,853
Why are you taking it?
105
00:12:17,853 --> 00:12:19,048
- To get high.
106
00:12:19,048 --> 00:12:21,298
- What do you mean by that?
107
00:12:22,572 --> 00:12:25,989
- Expanded consciousness. More awareness.
108
00:12:27,582 --> 00:12:30,440
- How does it compare with
getting high on alcohol?
109
00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:32,708
- I've never been high on alcohol.
110
00:12:32,708 --> 00:12:36,809
- It's the opposite. It
just seems to block you.
111
00:12:36,809 --> 00:12:38,099
- And then does what?
112
00:12:38,099 --> 00:12:39,799
- It opens you up.
113
00:12:39,799 --> 00:12:42,853
- You can get more aware of things.
114
00:12:42,853 --> 00:12:44,621
- What kind of things?
115
00:12:44,621 --> 00:12:45,712
- Everything.
116
00:12:45,712 --> 00:12:49,212
(quiet, reflective music)
117
00:12:55,478 --> 00:12:57,432
- Are these people getting revelations
118
00:12:57,432 --> 00:13:00,283
from outside themselves
or are they wallowing
119
00:13:00,283 --> 00:13:03,116
in delusions brought about
by the drug's distortion
120
00:13:03,116 --> 00:13:06,489
of normal brain parts and processes.
121
00:13:06,489 --> 00:13:10,418
How permanent is it, and is
it reflective in behavior?
122
00:13:10,418 --> 00:13:13,918
(quiet, reflective music)
123
00:13:20,433 --> 00:13:21,266
- Colors.
124
00:13:22,395 --> 00:13:24,546
Just colors.
- [Voiceover] Just colors?
125
00:13:24,546 --> 00:13:25,840
Is it moving colors?
126
00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:27,982
Yes. No, it's not patterns.
127
00:13:27,982 --> 00:13:29,898
- It's not patterns?
128
00:13:29,898 --> 00:13:33,022
What kind of color are
you seeing at the moment?
129
00:13:33,022 --> 00:13:36,790
- Green, orange, everything
centered around orange.
130
00:13:36,790 --> 00:13:38,848
- And are they moving fast?
131
00:13:38,848 --> 00:13:39,681
- No.
132
00:13:40,660 --> 00:13:44,077
(trippy, ethereal music)
133
00:14:00,591 --> 00:14:02,896
- When I moved into clinical work
134
00:14:02,896 --> 00:14:07,062
our approach was called
psycholytic therapy, which was
135
00:14:07,062 --> 00:14:08,729
basically use of the
136
00:14:10,315 --> 00:14:12,315
small or medium dosages,
137
00:14:13,343 --> 00:14:15,926
but a whole series of sessions.
138
00:14:17,492 --> 00:14:21,664
The process was more like a
sort of gradual penetrating,
139
00:14:21,664 --> 00:14:25,831
like a kind of a chemo-archeology
in the psyche layer.
140
00:14:28,392 --> 00:14:31,856
Then I found out that there
was tremendous variability
141
00:14:31,856 --> 00:14:35,384
of the sessions, not
just inter-individual,
142
00:14:35,384 --> 00:14:38,495
but if you take it
repeatedly, each session
143
00:14:38,495 --> 00:14:40,211
will be significantly different,
144
00:14:40,211 --> 00:14:42,544
and there was a progression.
145
00:14:46,365 --> 00:14:49,147
So I started thinking
about something like LSD
146
00:14:49,147 --> 00:14:52,533
as a capitalist so that it doesn't create
147
00:14:52,533 --> 00:14:56,533
these experiences, but
it makes them accessible.
148
00:14:57,627 --> 00:15:01,202
With this kind of understanding,
LSD becomes comparable
149
00:15:01,202 --> 00:15:06,044
to what the microscope is
for biology or medicine,
150
00:15:06,044 --> 00:15:09,794
or what the telescope is for astronomy.
151
00:15:09,794 --> 00:15:14,271
We don't think that the
microscope creates worlds
152
00:15:14,271 --> 00:15:15,879
that are not there.
153
00:15:15,879 --> 00:15:17,331
The something is already there,
154
00:15:17,331 --> 00:15:20,664
but we cannot study it without the tool.
155
00:15:22,788 --> 00:15:25,140
Same thing with the
telescope does not create
156
00:15:25,140 --> 00:15:27,557
all the billions of galaxies.
157
00:15:29,005 --> 00:15:30,554
Obviously, they have been there.
158
00:15:30,554 --> 00:15:34,721
They are there, but we need
the telescope to study them.
159
00:15:36,069 --> 00:15:39,319
(dramatic, dark music)
160
00:15:56,051 --> 00:16:00,218
(war plane accelerating overhead)
161
00:16:01,745 --> 00:16:04,568
(background noise drowns out other noise)
162
00:16:04,568 --> 00:16:06,077
- [Voiceover] Coordinated
with the United States
163
00:16:06,077 --> 00:16:08,404
and the Canadian governments,
that that (inaudible)
164
00:16:08,404 --> 00:16:13,161
warning screens has been
warned of an approaching enemy.
165
00:16:13,161 --> 00:16:16,492
It (inaudible) not only the
security of the United States,
166
00:16:16,492 --> 00:16:19,909
but the security of the whole free world.
167
00:16:20,765 --> 00:16:23,033
- [Voiceover] During the
Cold War, other groups
168
00:16:23,033 --> 00:16:26,450
became interested in the new wonder drug.
169
00:16:27,338 --> 00:16:28,681
LSD attracted the attention
170
00:16:28,681 --> 00:16:31,959
of international secret services.
171
00:16:31,959 --> 00:16:34,709
In the fore was the American CIA.
172
00:16:39,113 --> 00:16:41,129
- The Central Intelligence
Agency was interested
173
00:16:41,129 --> 00:16:45,011
in LSD because it sought
to develop a truth serum,
174
00:16:45,011 --> 00:16:47,483
an interrogation weapon for questioning
175
00:16:47,483 --> 00:16:51,650
enemy spies suspected of
disloyal people within the CIA,
176
00:16:52,526 --> 00:16:55,667
any occasion that might
require soliciting information
177
00:16:55,667 --> 00:16:58,979
for people against their
will, in order to gain
178
00:16:58,979 --> 00:17:02,613
an advantage to loosen their
tongue to pry into their mind.
179
00:17:02,613 --> 00:17:05,530
This was the idea that the CIA had.
180
00:17:07,453 --> 00:17:10,223
- Do you know where you are?
181
00:17:10,223 --> 00:17:11,390
Where are you?
182
00:17:12,264 --> 00:17:13,323
- [Martin] They knew it was very powerful.
183
00:17:13,323 --> 00:17:15,800
They suspected it could be very helpful,
184
00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:18,755
but they didn't know much about it.
185
00:17:18,755 --> 00:17:21,330
So they turned to outside institutions,
186
00:17:21,330 --> 00:17:24,413
outside experts, to conduct research.
187
00:17:25,342 --> 00:17:29,509
Some of this research turned
out to be pretty nasty.
188
00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:33,456
There was a special case up in Canada
189
00:17:33,456 --> 00:17:37,307
at the Allan Memorial
Institute in Montreal,
190
00:17:37,307 --> 00:17:41,390
where people were essentially
used as guinea pigs
191
00:17:42,407 --> 00:17:44,574
for a terrible experiment.
192
00:17:49,190 --> 00:17:52,943
The idea was you break a
person's mental patterns down
193
00:17:52,943 --> 00:17:55,693
by giving them high doses of LSD.
194
00:17:57,380 --> 00:18:00,431
When that phase was over,
they would put them to sleep
195
00:18:00,431 --> 00:18:03,314
for a long time using a
sedative, and then engage
196
00:18:03,314 --> 00:18:06,277
in a process called psychic driving,
197
00:18:06,277 --> 00:18:09,473
where they'd have the
same message piped in
198
00:18:09,473 --> 00:18:12,491
over and over again, thousands of times,
199
00:18:12,491 --> 00:18:14,530
to see if they could instill this idea
200
00:18:14,530 --> 00:18:17,860
in terms of creating a new personality.
201
00:18:17,860 --> 00:18:20,838
It was classic brainwashing.
202
00:18:20,838 --> 00:18:23,755
(dark, slow music)
203
00:18:36,266 --> 00:18:38,714
The CI wanted always a certain result.
204
00:18:38,714 --> 00:18:41,069
They wanted to be able to
predict what would happen,
205
00:18:41,069 --> 00:18:44,452
and then do something to make
that prediction come true.
206
00:18:44,452 --> 00:18:47,476
LSD didn't always work
that way, and they found
207
00:18:47,476 --> 00:18:51,419
they ran into problems because
it was an unpredictable drug.
208
00:18:51,419 --> 00:18:55,502
(helicopter propellers whirring)
209
00:18:59,039 --> 00:19:01,817
The US Army had more grandiose ideas
210
00:19:01,817 --> 00:19:04,650
about what they could do with LSD.
211
00:19:05,979 --> 00:19:09,499
In essence, the US Army wanted
to develop LSD as a weapon
212
00:19:09,499 --> 00:19:12,481
of war, as a psycho chemical weapon
213
00:19:12,481 --> 00:19:15,314
that they could spray over a city.
214
00:19:16,406 --> 00:19:20,274
It would make everybody
crazy for a temporary period,
215
00:19:20,274 --> 00:19:22,220
and the enemy soldiers
were helpless to resist
216
00:19:22,220 --> 00:19:26,778
because they were under
the influence of LSD.
217
00:19:26,778 --> 00:19:30,778
A war without death, a
LSD warfare was the idea.
218
00:19:33,172 --> 00:19:34,861
- [Voiceover] Here is a
group of normal soldiers
219
00:19:34,861 --> 00:19:38,480
responding correctly to a series
of routine drill commands.
220
00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:41,090
After receiving a small does of LSD,
221
00:19:41,090 --> 00:19:44,007
they're confused and undisciplined.
222
00:19:53,427 --> 00:19:58,309
- The idea of being able to
subdue, like say, the enemy,
223
00:19:58,309 --> 00:20:02,476
without harming them or killing
them, was very appealing.
224
00:20:04,407 --> 00:20:07,309
LSD was of interest because
225
00:20:07,309 --> 00:20:09,511
it was the most powerful drug
226
00:20:09,511 --> 00:20:13,094
available at that time
to treat people with
227
00:20:15,333 --> 00:20:18,004
with psychedelic effects and so on,
228
00:20:18,004 --> 00:20:21,810
or to alter their behavior, which the CIA
229
00:20:21,810 --> 00:20:23,848
was interested in doing,
and we weren't interested
230
00:20:23,848 --> 00:20:25,179
in either of those things.
231
00:20:25,179 --> 00:20:27,115
We were interested in finding something
232
00:20:27,115 --> 00:20:31,198
that would impair performance
in the battlefield.
233
00:20:34,685 --> 00:20:38,602
Because LSD made some
volunteers uncooperative,
234
00:20:39,723 --> 00:20:44,354
we wanted to have a small
contained space where
235
00:20:44,354 --> 00:20:47,707
we could have the individual
sit, and we could televise him,
236
00:20:47,707 --> 00:20:52,170
as well as the psychiatrist
asking him questions.
237
00:20:52,170 --> 00:20:55,423
You find the sensation unpleasant?
238
00:20:55,423 --> 00:20:56,883
- No, great.
239
00:20:56,883 --> 00:20:57,716
- You like it?
240
00:20:57,716 --> 00:20:58,716
- Very much.
241
00:21:00,007 --> 00:21:03,531
- When you see things, where
do you see things most clearly?
242
00:21:03,531 --> 00:21:06,762
In the central part of your vision, or--
243
00:21:06,762 --> 00:21:10,854
- Left, about the ends of
my triple vision though,
244
00:21:10,854 --> 00:21:12,462
this stuff drives ya crazy.
245
00:21:12,462 --> 00:21:13,845
- Say that again?
246
00:21:13,845 --> 00:21:16,304
- Nothing's going on, a whirr.
247
00:21:16,304 --> 00:21:17,476
- Oh, your peripheral vision?
248
00:21:17,476 --> 00:21:19,013
- Yeah, way in the outer core.
249
00:21:19,013 --> 00:21:21,299
- I see, but the central vision is okay?
250
00:21:21,299 --> 00:21:22,237
- Oh, fine.
251
00:21:22,237 --> 00:21:23,987
- Take seven from 92.
252
00:21:25,644 --> 00:21:28,977
- Seven from 92? (sigh)
253
00:21:37,871 --> 00:21:39,200
Tried.
254
00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:44,006
- Individuals react to the
stress of LSD in various ways.
255
00:21:44,006 --> 00:21:47,093
Here's a subject who succumbs
to what has been called
256
00:21:47,093 --> 00:21:51,744
cosmic laughter, as he
realizes his predicament.
257
00:21:51,744 --> 00:21:53,615
- Let's get going. I need a cigarette.
258
00:21:53,615 --> 00:21:56,782
(hysterical laughter)
259
00:22:04,258 --> 00:22:06,778
Ah, come on, I'm serious now.
260
00:22:06,778 --> 00:22:10,945
If I can you. (hysterical laughter)
261
00:22:13,419 --> 00:22:16,446
- We didn't think that was
the kind of result we wanted
262
00:22:16,446 --> 00:22:19,775
to produce in a battlefield situation.
263
00:22:19,775 --> 00:22:21,980
It would probably be dangerous for us.
264
00:22:21,980 --> 00:22:23,740
We might end up on the receiving end
265
00:22:23,740 --> 00:22:25,573
of an ill-advised bomb
266
00:22:27,592 --> 00:22:29,406
or heavy-duty weapon,
267
00:22:29,406 --> 00:22:33,362
and we were not interested
in provoking that.
268
00:22:33,362 --> 00:22:35,529
- This is Delta One, over.
269
00:22:36,378 --> 00:22:38,644
- [Voiceover] Delta
One, this is Alpha One.
270
00:22:38,644 --> 00:22:41,727
It is now one, two, three, two hours.
271
00:22:44,522 --> 00:22:47,272
(dramatic music)
272
00:23:12,587 --> 00:23:15,337
(birds chirping)
273
00:23:49,826 --> 00:23:52,659
(seagulls cawing)
274
00:23:59,448 --> 00:24:02,365
(slow, dark music)
275
00:24:55,647 --> 00:24:59,480
- Well, an important thing
about psychedelic experiences is
276
00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:02,554
that they take you way beyond anywhere
277
00:25:02,554 --> 00:25:05,546
that psychoanalysis or
some related schools
278
00:25:05,546 --> 00:25:09,457
can actually reach, and that's where most
279
00:25:09,457 --> 00:25:13,118
of the emotional psychosomatic
problems are coming from.
280
00:25:13,118 --> 00:25:16,536
They're also mechanisms of
healing and transformation
281
00:25:16,536 --> 00:25:19,067
that are much more powerful
than anything you can do
282
00:25:19,067 --> 00:25:22,234
on the level of biographical material.
283
00:25:24,975 --> 00:25:27,792
We have also talked to
a number of people who
284
00:25:27,792 --> 00:25:30,176
had years of psychoanalysis,
285
00:25:30,176 --> 00:25:32,350
and they say they didn't even come close
286
00:25:32,350 --> 00:25:36,267
to where the first or
second session took them.
287
00:25:39,555 --> 00:25:41,500
- [Voiceover] At the end of the 1950s,
288
00:25:41,500 --> 00:25:44,667
LSD had found its place in psychiatry.
289
00:25:47,676 --> 00:25:49,757
It was regularly used in many clinics
290
00:25:49,757 --> 00:25:52,090
in Europe and North America.
291
00:25:56,255 --> 00:25:59,966
Because people believed that
LSD increased creativity,
292
00:25:59,966 --> 00:26:02,413
more and more artists and intellectuals
293
00:26:02,413 --> 00:26:05,330
became interested in the substance.
294
00:26:09,208 --> 00:26:11,514
- I'm going to give you this cup
295
00:26:11,514 --> 00:26:15,097
that contains lysergic
acid 100 micrograms.
296
00:26:16,866 --> 00:26:18,366
Will you drink it?
297
00:26:21,170 --> 00:26:25,137
I would like to ask you to
describe your profession.
298
00:26:25,137 --> 00:26:27,031
- I'm an artist.
299
00:26:27,031 --> 00:26:28,211
- Painter?
300
00:26:28,211 --> 00:26:30,681
- That's true.
- [Doctor] Yes
301
00:26:30,681 --> 00:26:31,514
12:17.
302
00:26:37,827 --> 00:26:40,052
- This is purple, isn't it?
303
00:26:40,052 --> 00:26:42,469
- No, it happens to be black.
304
00:26:44,585 --> 00:26:45,993
You see purple?
305
00:26:45,993 --> 00:26:46,926
- Yes.
306
00:26:46,926 --> 00:26:51,755
- Well this is just a
charcoal. Look at it, see.
307
00:26:51,755 --> 00:26:53,131
Why do you do that now?
308
00:26:53,131 --> 00:26:57,367
- Well, the square is the
ordinary rectangle, you see.
309
00:26:57,367 --> 00:26:58,998
It's one of the perfect means.
310
00:26:58,998 --> 00:27:01,094
- I know, but are you
trying to reassure yourself
311
00:27:01,094 --> 00:27:02,325
that you're capable of--
312
00:27:02,325 --> 00:27:04,419
- Yes, I think that is
what I would like to do.
313
00:27:04,419 --> 00:27:08,270
I'd like to find out what reality I'm in.
314
00:27:08,270 --> 00:27:09,270
- 2 o'clock.
315
00:27:12,522 --> 00:27:14,344
Anyhow, what I would like you to do now is
316
00:27:14,344 --> 00:27:17,011
to draw another picture of Paul.
317
00:27:19,595 --> 00:27:21,181
Do you still have that pleasant feeling
318
00:27:21,181 --> 00:27:23,067
that you described before?
319
00:27:23,067 --> 00:27:26,984
- Yes, I still have it.
I'll never get over it.
320
00:27:29,980 --> 00:27:31,600
- This is a general feeling,
321
00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:33,853
when you look it on
yourself, is that correct?
322
00:27:33,853 --> 00:27:37,353
- Yeah. (heavy breathing)
323
00:27:39,411 --> 00:27:42,244
- Are you getting emotional again?
324
00:27:43,269 --> 00:27:44,532
Look at the picture now.
325
00:27:44,532 --> 00:27:46,842
Look at the picture.
326
00:27:46,842 --> 00:27:49,342
Oh, come on, now. Concentrate.
327
00:27:55,236 --> 00:27:57,868
That's just about right.
328
00:27:57,868 --> 00:28:01,434
Let's suppose you take a
look at these two pictures,
329
00:28:01,434 --> 00:28:05,601
and compare them, and let's
see if you have any comments.
330
00:28:10,329 --> 00:28:13,158
Do you see any big difference?
331
00:28:13,158 --> 00:28:16,158
- Not really, the eyes, for example,
332
00:28:17,725 --> 00:28:21,892
are the same to me, and the
line of the nose is the same,
333
00:28:23,152 --> 00:28:26,235
and the mouth is still a sweet mouth.
334
00:28:28,786 --> 00:28:31,203
- 2:48. He's now flying high.
335
00:28:32,451 --> 00:28:34,817
- I feel these lovely colors
vibrating all over me.
336
00:28:34,817 --> 00:28:36,100
Aww, it's lovely.
337
00:28:36,100 --> 00:28:36,933
- Any lines?
338
00:28:36,933 --> 00:28:37,891
- No.
339
00:28:37,891 --> 00:28:39,261
- Any forms?
340
00:28:39,261 --> 00:28:42,844
- Just like the shimmering
water, you know?
341
00:28:44,855 --> 00:28:47,159
- Do you feel happy?
342
00:28:47,159 --> 00:28:49,137
- Yes. Are you what?
343
00:28:49,137 --> 00:28:51,344
- 'cause you have tears in your eyes.
344
00:28:51,344 --> 00:28:54,808
(patient breathes heavily while laughing)
345
00:28:54,808 --> 00:28:58,955
Is that a beautiful
experience, would you say?
346
00:28:58,955 --> 00:29:01,769
- (slow-motion laugh) I would say yes.
347
00:29:01,769 --> 00:29:04,146
- Describe it again.
348
00:29:04,146 --> 00:29:05,543
- Oh, I should know.
349
00:29:05,543 --> 00:29:06,376
- Hmm?
350
00:29:10,516 --> 00:29:12,433
- It's just giving of--
351
00:29:16,932 --> 00:29:20,688
- You're doing fine.
Just try to describe it.
352
00:29:20,688 --> 00:29:23,355
- Oh, just, you don't know, you.
353
00:29:25,350 --> 00:29:27,467
You want to give yourself.
354
00:29:27,467 --> 00:29:29,932
You want to give yourself
as much as you can.
355
00:29:29,932 --> 00:29:33,349
(slow, despondent music)
356
00:29:55,001 --> 00:29:57,918
(machine whirring)
357
00:30:02,055 --> 00:30:04,888
(machine beeping)
358
00:32:02,827 --> 00:32:05,577
(birds chirping)
359
00:32:10,778 --> 00:32:13,180
- [Voiceover] In the mid-50s,
the American researcher,
360
00:32:13,180 --> 00:32:15,907
Gordon Wasson, made a mysterious discovery
361
00:32:15,907 --> 00:32:18,157
in the highlands of Mexico,
362
00:32:19,994 --> 00:32:24,037
an inconspicuous mushroom,
swallowed as a sacrament
363
00:32:24,037 --> 00:32:27,716
during religious rituals to
contact the world of the Gods.
364
00:32:27,716 --> 00:32:31,383
(speaking foreign language)
365
00:32:32,553 --> 00:32:34,128
Gordon Wasson took some samples
366
00:32:34,128 --> 00:32:37,461
of the mystic mushroom home to New York.
367
00:33:54,691 --> 00:33:57,299
While analyzing the
Mexican magic mushroom,
368
00:33:57,299 --> 00:34:01,466
Albert Hofmann dared to perform
another self-experiment.
369
00:34:03,598 --> 00:34:05,850
In doing so, he and his team were able
370
00:34:05,850 --> 00:34:10,360
to isolate the active
ingredient for the first time,
371
00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:14,193
psilocybin, a chemical
closely related to LSD.
372
00:34:44,928 --> 00:34:47,906
The American took him to Maria Sabina,
373
00:34:47,906 --> 00:34:50,274
an old highly respected healing woman
374
00:34:50,274 --> 00:34:52,607
in the land of the Mazatecs.
375
00:34:56,164 --> 00:34:57,914
The two researchers wanted to test
376
00:34:57,914 --> 00:35:00,581
their psilocybin tablets on her.
377
00:35:35,770 --> 00:35:38,853
(hard hand clapping)
378
00:35:44,939 --> 00:35:48,856
(chanting in foreign language)
379
00:36:54,082 --> 00:36:57,332
(fun, energetic music)
380
00:37:13,590 --> 00:37:17,757
(young people hooting and hollering)
381
00:37:36,250 --> 00:37:38,302
In california, a group of young people
382
00:37:38,302 --> 00:37:40,885
started out across the country,
383
00:37:42,316 --> 00:37:44,066
the Merry Pranksters.
384
00:37:45,574 --> 00:37:48,741
Among them, was the author, Ken Kesey.
385
00:37:49,857 --> 00:37:53,284
Since his best seller, "One
Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,"
386
00:37:53,284 --> 00:37:56,284
he could afford an independent life.
387
00:37:59,223 --> 00:38:02,568
Kesey's novel was inspired
by his LSD experience
388
00:38:02,568 --> 00:38:06,401
as a voluntary tester
in a Californian clinic.
389
00:38:10,490 --> 00:38:13,673
- Psilocybin, mescaline, LSD.
390
00:38:13,673 --> 00:38:16,281
The government was
doing experiments there,
391
00:38:16,281 --> 00:38:20,114
and the drugs began to
get out into the world.
392
00:38:22,231 --> 00:38:24,981
Ken had a wide circle of friends.
393
00:38:28,096 --> 00:38:33,040
I loved parties, but the
alcohol was ruining it for me.
394
00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:34,207
I can't drink.
395
00:38:36,020 --> 00:38:39,655
And when LSD came along, you know, hooray!
396
00:38:39,655 --> 00:38:42,488
Here's another direction to go in.
397
00:38:50,563 --> 00:38:53,730
We had some LSD that was in a package,
398
00:38:55,270 --> 00:38:58,539
and we had to create doses out of it,
399
00:38:58,539 --> 00:39:01,317
and that was very difficult to do.
400
00:39:01,317 --> 00:39:05,088
We wanted to make small doses, not so big.
401
00:39:05,088 --> 00:39:07,691
Well, that was really hard to do.
402
00:39:07,691 --> 00:39:10,858
In trying to create a
way to distribute this
403
00:39:10,858 --> 00:39:15,025
to other people, we sort of got
very deep into it ourselves,
404
00:39:16,308 --> 00:39:20,475
sort of Magic Carpet Rides
inside of our own minds,
405
00:39:21,312 --> 00:39:25,151
and couldn't help but
talk about these things.
406
00:39:25,151 --> 00:39:27,765
The minute you start to talk about this,
407
00:39:27,765 --> 00:39:29,515
everybody wants some.
408
00:39:31,902 --> 00:39:34,704
- [Voiceover] Wherever the
old school bus stopped,
409
00:39:34,704 --> 00:39:36,954
the LSD parties got bigger.
410
00:39:40,931 --> 00:39:43,766
The acid test, a right of passage
411
00:39:43,766 --> 00:39:46,595
into a new psychedelic lifestyle.
412
00:39:46,595 --> 00:39:49,762
(ethereal rock music)
413
00:40:34,587 --> 00:40:38,754
(slow, dark, and mysterious music)
414
00:40:49,196 --> 00:40:52,363
Millbrook, on the American East Coast.
415
00:40:54,725 --> 00:40:57,486
In the vacant country
house of a rich patron,
416
00:40:57,486 --> 00:40:59,832
former Harvard lecturer, Timothy Leary,
417
00:40:59,832 --> 00:41:02,332
founded a psychedelic commune.
418
00:41:06,537 --> 00:41:09,275
- Well, the first experience I had was
419
00:41:09,275 --> 00:41:12,109
with seven little mushrooms in Mexico. For
420
00:41:12,109 --> 00:41:14,093
the five hours after
I ate these mushrooms,
421
00:41:14,093 --> 00:41:17,488
I learned more about psychology than I had
422
00:41:17,488 --> 00:41:20,145
in the preceding 16
years as a psychologist.
423
00:41:20,145 --> 00:41:22,544
And since that time,
I've done almost nothing
424
00:41:22,544 --> 00:41:26,243
but attempt to study,
to learn more about how
425
00:41:26,243 --> 00:41:27,879
these experiences are produced,
426
00:41:27,879 --> 00:41:31,462
and how they can be
used for man's benefit.
427
00:41:33,195 --> 00:41:35,181
- [Voiceover] At Harvard,
Leary put the study
428
00:41:35,181 --> 00:41:38,681
of hallucinogenic drugs on the curriculum.
429
00:41:40,331 --> 00:41:41,955
That was the beginning of the end
430
00:41:41,955 --> 00:41:43,291
for the ambitious professor
431
00:41:43,291 --> 00:41:46,374
and his team at the elite university.
432
00:41:47,607 --> 00:41:49,259
- The one thing that it differed from
433
00:41:49,259 --> 00:41:51,257
the accepted social
paradigm is that we took
434
00:41:51,257 --> 00:41:54,424
the drug ourself, 'cause
Leary now would be
435
00:41:54,424 --> 00:41:57,038
lacking behaviors paradigms,
he wouldn't do that,
436
00:41:57,038 --> 00:41:58,727
and the chairman of the department
437
00:41:58,727 --> 00:42:01,216
was pissed off at us for doing that,
438
00:42:01,216 --> 00:42:03,383
and that was unscientific.
439
00:42:05,114 --> 00:42:08,735
And they said, "If you
do these studies quietly,
440
00:42:08,735 --> 00:42:10,402
it's gonna be okay,"
441
00:42:12,712 --> 00:42:15,379
but that was not Leary's vision.
442
00:42:16,402 --> 00:42:19,614
It was a democratic vision, egalitarian.
443
00:42:19,614 --> 00:42:21,922
This is too good not to
share with everybody.
444
00:42:21,922 --> 00:42:23,422
Who are we to say?
445
00:42:24,993 --> 00:42:27,093
- [Voiceover] Tim Leary
and his entire team were
446
00:42:27,093 --> 00:42:30,345
eventually fired from Harvard.
447
00:42:30,345 --> 00:42:33,012
His new headquarters, Millbrook,
448
00:42:34,194 --> 00:42:38,194
the place for contemplation
and adventure alike.
449
00:42:42,039 --> 00:42:43,971
- Well, I had a great time at Millbrook.
450
00:42:43,971 --> 00:42:47,471
I mean, it was a place to introduce people
451
00:42:49,239 --> 00:42:51,034
to the psychedelic experience
452
00:42:51,034 --> 00:42:53,951
in the most beautiful way possible.
453
00:42:56,875 --> 00:43:01,723
It was a stead for people to
come from every walk of life
454
00:43:01,723 --> 00:43:04,890
from the highest aristocrat and noble,
455
00:43:06,083 --> 00:43:07,833
and royal person down
456
00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:10,873
to the dirtiest hippy.
457
00:43:11,796 --> 00:43:15,796
Everybody came. It was a
mecca for psychedelics.
458
00:43:20,261 --> 00:43:22,678
LSD was a tremendous leveler.
459
00:43:23,568 --> 00:43:27,264
No matter what level of
society you came from,
460
00:43:27,264 --> 00:43:29,686
when you turned on to
someone from another member
461
00:43:29,686 --> 00:43:34,235
of society, that classed vision
did not cloud your vision.
462
00:43:34,235 --> 00:43:36,282
You could see that person clearly,
463
00:43:36,282 --> 00:43:38,493
and you could see them as a friend.
464
00:43:38,493 --> 00:43:42,160
- Any moment is a mighty,
feeling condition.
465
00:43:46,495 --> 00:43:47,873
- The place was beautiful.
466
00:43:47,873 --> 00:43:50,034
It was 2600 acres
467
00:43:50,034 --> 00:43:52,451
of Northern New York scenery,
468
00:43:54,608 --> 00:43:56,140
(dog barking)
469
00:43:56,140 --> 00:43:58,924
and you just walk out there high,
470
00:43:58,924 --> 00:44:00,415
and no one was going to bother you.
471
00:44:00,415 --> 00:44:03,248
You were miles from the main gate.
472
00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:12,327
My experience at Millbrook was
not about curing ill people,
473
00:44:13,337 --> 00:44:16,254
but making what well people weller,
474
00:44:17,737 --> 00:44:21,237
about moving into the cosmic understanding
475
00:44:22,376 --> 00:44:25,151
of our existence here on life.
476
00:44:25,151 --> 00:44:28,283
We're not just dumbies brought to walk
477
00:44:28,283 --> 00:44:30,232
in one path all of our lives.
478
00:44:30,232 --> 00:44:31,984
We are here to fly.
479
00:44:31,984 --> 00:44:35,317
(ethereal, happy music)
480
00:45:17,089 --> 00:45:19,698
- [Voiceover] Doctor Leary,
what are you up to here?
481
00:45:19,698 --> 00:45:23,952
- We teach the science and art of ecstasy.
482
00:45:23,952 --> 00:45:27,314
We teach people how to turn on,
483
00:45:27,314 --> 00:45:29,877
or how to go out of their minds.
484
00:45:29,877 --> 00:45:32,821
By turnin' on, we mean tune in
485
00:45:32,821 --> 00:45:35,404
to get beyond your routine ways
486
00:45:36,853 --> 00:45:40,186
of thinking and acting and experiencing.
487
00:45:41,258 --> 00:45:44,846
We often say that we're teaching people
488
00:45:44,846 --> 00:45:46,984
how to use their head.
489
00:45:46,984 --> 00:45:50,985
The point is that in
order to use your head,
490
00:45:50,985 --> 00:45:52,933
you have to go out of your mind.
491
00:45:52,933 --> 00:45:56,355
You have to go out of all
of the static symbolic ways
492
00:45:56,355 --> 00:45:57,938
in which you think.
493
00:46:42,767 --> 00:46:47,532
- Leary was a provocateur. Yes,
he liked being provocative.
494
00:46:47,532 --> 00:46:51,287
He liked saying things in a little way
495
00:46:51,287 --> 00:46:53,287
that got people to turn.
496
00:46:54,167 --> 00:46:55,898
He didn't care if they misunderstood.
497
00:46:55,898 --> 00:46:58,398
He said, "Think for yourself."
498
00:46:59,259 --> 00:47:01,306
- America today is an insane asylum.
499
00:47:01,306 --> 00:47:03,466
The American people are completely hung up
500
00:47:03,466 --> 00:47:07,362
on material acquisition,
on power, on war-making.
501
00:47:07,362 --> 00:47:09,065
It's an insane asylum over here.
502
00:47:09,065 --> 00:47:12,488
And it's our goal to
lift the spiritual level
503
00:47:12,488 --> 00:47:13,879
of the American people.
504
00:47:13,879 --> 00:47:16,755
We're gonna try to bring
about a religious renaissance
505
00:47:16,755 --> 00:47:19,008
and a spiritual revolution.
506
00:47:19,008 --> 00:47:21,404
In the next five or 10
years, we expect that
507
00:47:21,404 --> 00:47:23,214
between 20 and 30 million Americans
508
00:47:23,214 --> 00:47:27,303
will be using LSD regularly
in their spiritual development
509
00:47:27,303 --> 00:47:29,636
and in psychological growth.
510
00:47:37,303 --> 00:47:40,146
Haight-Ashbury, previously
a run-down district
511
00:47:40,146 --> 00:47:43,896
in San Francisco
experienced another hay day.
512
00:47:46,752 --> 00:47:50,027
- It was sort of a very exciting
time in the Haight-Ashbury.
513
00:47:50,027 --> 00:47:51,194
It was lovely.
514
00:47:52,565 --> 00:47:55,449
There was a very good community spirit.
515
00:47:55,449 --> 00:47:59,153
The little stores were
opening down on Haight Street.
516
00:47:59,153 --> 00:48:00,941
People were very friendly with each other.
517
00:48:00,941 --> 00:48:03,269
We all knew each other
in the neighborhood.
518
00:48:03,269 --> 00:48:05,650
And they would come up
with wonderful ideas,
519
00:48:05,650 --> 00:48:08,688
like, "Let's have a party
in some corner of the park."
520
00:48:08,688 --> 00:48:11,348
So the band would come out
and bring their instruments.
521
00:48:11,348 --> 00:48:13,195
(party goers hooting and hollering)
522
00:48:13,195 --> 00:48:14,986
- [Voiceover] The band
called The Grateful Dead
523
00:48:14,986 --> 00:48:17,785
have announced they will
make music in the park.
524
00:48:17,785 --> 00:48:19,645
And the crowd moves along,
525
00:48:19,645 --> 00:48:22,573
(background noise drowns out other noise)
526
00:48:22,573 --> 00:48:26,740
(instrumental music of The Grateful Dead)
527
00:48:45,212 --> 00:48:47,890
- In the 60s, LSD was important because
528
00:48:47,890 --> 00:48:51,246
it reinforced a sense
that change was possible,
529
00:48:51,246 --> 00:48:53,917
because if you can be one way one minute,
530
00:48:53,917 --> 00:48:57,127
take a tiny little chemical called LSD,
531
00:48:57,127 --> 00:48:59,760
and in an hour be at another dimension
532
00:48:59,760 --> 00:49:02,057
of universe, of seeing fantastic things,
533
00:49:02,057 --> 00:49:04,491
feeling things that you didn't
even know you could feel,
534
00:49:04,491 --> 00:49:07,685
hearing things you didn't
know could be heard that way.
535
00:49:07,685 --> 00:49:09,595
If you can do that to your mind with
536
00:49:09,595 --> 00:49:13,178
this tiny little pill,
anything's possible.
537
00:49:19,570 --> 00:49:22,809
- We tell young people
today, "Drop out of school,"
538
00:49:22,809 --> 00:49:25,081
because school's education today
539
00:49:25,081 --> 00:49:28,106
is the worst narcotic drug of all.
540
00:49:28,106 --> 00:49:29,848
Don't politic. Don't vote.
541
00:49:29,848 --> 00:49:32,882
These are old men's games,
impotent and senile, old men;
542
00:49:32,882 --> 00:49:35,856
They want to put you onto
their old chess games
543
00:49:35,856 --> 00:49:36,876
of war and power.
544
00:49:36,876 --> 00:49:40,043
Drop out. Tune in with natural things.
545
00:49:40,915 --> 00:49:42,476
Take off your shoes.
546
00:49:42,476 --> 00:49:44,990
Get back in tune with God's harmony.
547
00:49:44,990 --> 00:49:47,677
Surround yourself with
beauty and sacred objects.
548
00:49:47,677 --> 00:49:50,920
You can't get caught in the conforming,
549
00:49:50,920 --> 00:49:54,753
rote lockstep, which we
call American society.
550
00:50:31,788 --> 00:50:34,367
- So then, at Millbrook,
551
00:50:34,367 --> 00:50:36,950
when our supplies were cut off,
552
00:50:38,363 --> 00:50:41,390
Timothy said, "We're
all psychologists here.
553
00:50:41,390 --> 00:50:44,581
"Nick's the only one with
a chemical background.
554
00:50:44,581 --> 00:50:47,779
"Why don't you start
making the sacraments."
555
00:50:47,779 --> 00:50:50,696
I said, "Okay, I'll give it a try."
556
00:50:51,714 --> 00:50:55,157
My training was anthropology,
but I had been involved,
557
00:50:55,157 --> 00:50:57,386
growing up in a laboratory my whole life
558
00:50:57,386 --> 00:50:59,581
because my father was a chemist.
559
00:50:59,581 --> 00:51:03,929
So all of this was
familiar and easy for me.
560
00:51:03,929 --> 00:51:06,762
I studied, and I became a chemist.
561
00:51:14,598 --> 00:51:17,147
We gathered the equipment
and the materials
562
00:51:17,147 --> 00:51:19,647
before we actually could work.
563
00:51:20,780 --> 00:51:23,867
Basically, it broke down into making
564
00:51:23,867 --> 00:51:26,277
an underground laboratory.
565
00:51:26,277 --> 00:51:29,195
So where am I going to do this?
566
00:51:29,195 --> 00:51:32,647
Well, I started out working
in my mother's attic,
567
00:51:32,647 --> 00:51:35,322
and then I moved down to the basement.
568
00:51:35,322 --> 00:51:38,124
Then I rented a small industrial place.
569
00:51:38,124 --> 00:51:40,990
Then I rented a larger industrial place.
570
00:51:40,990 --> 00:51:43,830
And then I moved to California,
571
00:51:43,830 --> 00:51:47,900
and so we rented another
industrial property
572
00:51:47,900 --> 00:51:51,650
in San Francisco, 4000
square-foot warehouse.
573
00:51:57,465 --> 00:52:01,353
There are syntheses of LSD
that take seven seconds,
574
00:52:01,353 --> 00:52:03,410
and it's done, boom.
575
00:52:03,410 --> 00:52:05,601
You got everything ready.
It takes a few hours.
576
00:52:05,601 --> 00:52:07,526
Put it all together. You add it together.
577
00:52:07,526 --> 00:52:09,904
You stir it for an hour.
It's done. You have your LSD.
578
00:52:09,904 --> 00:52:13,300
Now the question is,
"How do you get it out
579
00:52:13,300 --> 00:52:16,147
"with starting materials
that have been left over
580
00:52:16,147 --> 00:52:21,138
"with the isomers and
byproducts, and how do you get
581
00:52:21,138 --> 00:52:23,332
"that all out so that you'll have
582
00:52:23,332 --> 00:52:25,082
only 99.9% LSD?"
583
00:52:28,349 --> 00:52:31,251
So that means you have to
recycle that material again,
584
00:52:31,251 --> 00:52:35,370
and so you recycle, and
recycle, and recycle,
585
00:52:35,370 --> 00:52:38,017
and the process of making very pure LSD
586
00:52:38,017 --> 00:52:39,767
is extremely tedious.
587
00:52:44,695 --> 00:52:46,484
We were making large amounts,
588
00:52:46,484 --> 00:52:48,950
and we were able to
purify in large amounts
589
00:52:48,950 --> 00:52:51,521
to 100-gram crystallizations.
590
00:52:51,521 --> 00:52:53,438
That's a million doses.
591
00:52:55,364 --> 00:52:58,281
(vehicles running)
592
00:52:59,208 --> 00:53:02,266
(psychedelic music)
593
00:53:02,266 --> 00:53:04,744
- [Voiceover] On the street, LSD, or acid,
594
00:53:04,744 --> 00:53:08,402
was initially tolerated by the police.
595
00:53:08,402 --> 00:53:12,569
Consuming the fashionable drug
wasn't prohibited at first.
596
00:53:17,968 --> 00:53:22,135
(drumming)
(crowd having a good time)
597
00:53:29,621 --> 00:53:32,853
- San Francisco is where
LSD was first marketed,
598
00:53:32,853 --> 00:53:37,136
where it is most readily,
and cheaply available.
599
00:53:37,136 --> 00:53:39,304
In the park, a little bright afternoon,
600
00:53:39,304 --> 00:53:41,315
there is a hipping wedding.
601
00:53:41,315 --> 00:53:44,030
The preacher is a man called Teddy Bear.
602
00:53:44,030 --> 00:53:45,971
He is a dope dealer.
603
00:53:45,971 --> 00:53:49,695
LSD washed down with wine
is the only sacrament.
604
00:53:49,695 --> 00:53:51,356
There are no vows.
605
00:53:51,356 --> 00:53:55,288
She will be his woman for as
long as they feel like it.
606
00:53:55,288 --> 00:53:58,207
- Do you take Kathy to
be your woman, your wife?
607
00:53:58,207 --> 00:54:01,540
You're married before God's poor people.
608
00:54:03,496 --> 00:54:06,663
(happy, trippy music)
609
00:54:14,489 --> 00:54:16,560
- What obviously was happening in people
610
00:54:16,560 --> 00:54:19,317
who were taking psychedelics, particularly
611
00:54:19,317 --> 00:54:23,423
the young generation, is that
they could not agree anymore,
612
00:54:23,423 --> 00:54:28,111
was the standards of the
society that was around them.
613
00:54:28,111 --> 00:54:31,090
They develop a whole
different system of values,
614
00:54:31,090 --> 00:54:34,872
a different life strategy, and so on.
615
00:54:34,872 --> 00:54:38,477
Part of it certainly was
very strong anti-war feelings
616
00:54:38,477 --> 00:54:39,771
because when you have,
617
00:54:39,771 --> 00:54:42,138
what I call transpersonal experiences,
618
00:54:42,138 --> 00:54:45,594
where you feel ascential
oneness with other people,
619
00:54:45,594 --> 00:54:49,419
even with the animals species,
with nature, and so on,
620
00:54:49,419 --> 00:54:54,139
it has very significant
implications for how you feel
621
00:54:54,139 --> 00:54:57,222
about war, people killing each other.
622
00:55:04,157 --> 00:55:08,230
So psychedelics became
a very, very important
623
00:55:08,230 --> 00:55:10,566
instrument of transformation,
624
00:55:10,566 --> 00:55:12,901
a change of a world view in a way
625
00:55:12,901 --> 00:55:16,722
that was very challenging
the old, conservative values.
626
00:55:16,722 --> 00:55:20,555
(slow-paced, leisurely music)
627
00:56:17,217 --> 00:56:20,050
(liquid bubbling)
628
00:56:24,480 --> 00:56:27,410
- I was just doing this
for my heart out of faith
629
00:56:27,410 --> 00:56:30,306
that this was the right thing to do,
630
00:56:30,306 --> 00:56:32,796
and everywhere I went, I gave it away,
631
00:56:32,796 --> 00:56:36,963
and I saw what it did to people,
and I said, "This is good."
632
00:56:40,115 --> 00:56:44,068
5,000 doses of the Orange Sunshine was
633
00:56:44,068 --> 00:56:46,469
a little, teeny bag like that.
634
00:56:46,469 --> 00:56:50,302
You know, that's a whole
division of soldiers.
635
00:56:51,138 --> 00:56:53,727
We sent hundreds of thousands of tablets
636
00:56:53,727 --> 00:56:55,394
to Vietnam for free.
637
00:56:58,913 --> 00:57:01,815
We were supporting all the war protesters,
638
00:57:01,815 --> 00:57:04,763
so why not support our
brothers and sisters,
639
00:57:04,763 --> 00:57:06,968
the same age, but have been drafted
640
00:57:06,968 --> 00:57:11,359
and dragged almost in chains
to be killed in Vietnam.
641
00:57:11,359 --> 00:57:13,966
Why not give them the same medicine
642
00:57:13,966 --> 00:57:15,615
that was causing the movement.
643
00:57:15,615 --> 00:57:18,380
(crowd of protesters yelling)
644
00:57:18,380 --> 00:57:21,409
- A companion peace demonstration
brings out 50,000 marchers
645
00:57:21,409 --> 00:57:25,576
in downtown San Francisco,
pacifists and hippies together.
646
00:57:27,557 --> 00:57:30,025
- Bombs in Vietnam exploded--
647
00:57:30,025 --> 00:57:34,192
(background noise drowns out other noise)
648
00:57:44,910 --> 00:57:47,577
(warping music)
649
00:57:48,566 --> 00:57:52,733
- The rebellion in the 1960s,
I think psychedelics were
650
00:57:54,101 --> 00:57:56,631
a part of it, a very significant
part, but I don't think
651
00:57:56,631 --> 00:58:00,199
they were the cause of what was happening.
652
00:58:00,199 --> 00:58:02,949
(haunting music)
653
00:58:05,250 --> 00:58:07,898
First, he became a symbol
654
00:58:07,898 --> 00:58:10,543
of all that was going
on that was frightening,
655
00:58:10,543 --> 00:58:13,627
of all that seemed to be wrong.
656
00:58:13,627 --> 00:58:16,686
It was an easy scapegoat, easy target
657
00:58:16,686 --> 00:58:19,935
for people who wanted to
denounce the youth rebellion,
658
00:58:19,935 --> 00:58:21,847
denounce the anti-war movement,
659
00:58:21,847 --> 00:58:24,765
very easy to denounce
the drug, or the drugs
660
00:58:24,765 --> 00:58:28,230
that were associated with those movements.
661
00:58:28,230 --> 00:58:30,065
The things that were said about LSD
662
00:58:30,065 --> 00:58:33,648
in the 1960s were in
many ways, ridiculous.
663
00:58:35,428 --> 00:58:38,868
- It's not always easy
to undo what I've done.
664
00:58:38,868 --> 00:58:41,118
- LSD, I've heard about it.
665
00:58:42,801 --> 00:58:45,125
I can see through the walls.
666
00:58:45,125 --> 00:58:49,292
(hysterically crying and screaming)
667
00:58:50,958 --> 00:58:51,958
- God, help!
668
00:58:52,793 --> 00:58:53,626
Help me!
669
00:58:58,234 --> 00:59:01,119
- Nothing was not extreme with LSD.
670
00:59:01,119 --> 00:59:04,342
(party goers screaming)
671
00:59:04,342 --> 00:59:06,570
It was projected in a way that made
672
00:59:06,570 --> 00:59:09,429
it very provocative, very loyal.
673
00:59:09,429 --> 00:59:12,738
Well, gee, is this drug
gonna send me to the grave,
674
00:59:12,738 --> 00:59:16,779
the mental institutions, prison,
and to the gates of heaven,
675
00:59:16,779 --> 00:59:18,683
and I'll have the best
sex I ever had in my life.
676
00:59:18,683 --> 00:59:20,857
Well, that's pretty interesting.
677
00:59:20,857 --> 00:59:23,440
(trippy music)
678
00:59:30,180 --> 00:59:32,792
- KRON TV has governor, Ronald Reagan,
679
00:59:32,792 --> 00:59:34,678
to comment on the problem.
680
00:59:34,678 --> 00:59:38,151
- Well, I am terribly frightened
by the problem of LSD.
681
00:59:38,151 --> 00:59:41,072
I think there's been a
great deal of misinformation
682
00:59:41,072 --> 00:59:43,997
by those who seem to see no harm in it.
683
00:59:43,997 --> 00:59:46,618
But as a parent and as a
citizen, and certainly now
684
00:59:46,618 --> 00:59:50,055
in this position, I am greatly concerned.
685
00:59:50,055 --> 00:59:51,925
There is nothing smart.
686
00:59:51,925 --> 00:59:54,140
There's nothing a grownup
687
00:59:54,140 --> 00:59:57,583
or sophisticated in
taking an LSD trip at all.
688
00:59:57,583 --> 00:59:59,975
They're just being complete fools.
689
00:59:59,975 --> 01:00:01,886
Anyone that would engage in this,
690
01:00:01,886 --> 01:00:05,431
or indulge in this is just a plain fool.
691
01:00:05,431 --> 01:00:07,722
(liquid dripping)
692
01:00:07,722 --> 01:00:09,613
- [Voiceover] After public
debates about the dangers
693
01:00:09,613 --> 01:00:12,389
of LSD became increasingly acrimonious,
694
01:00:12,389 --> 01:00:16,556
the state of California eventually
reacted in October 1966.
695
01:00:18,250 --> 01:00:20,667
The substance was prohibited.
696
01:00:24,983 --> 01:00:28,400
- And we're moving from legal to illegal,
697
01:00:29,661 --> 01:00:33,229
and my status changed from one who is
698
01:00:33,229 --> 01:00:37,229
a minor criminal to one
who was a serious felon.
699
01:00:39,916 --> 01:00:41,853
I mean, I've been convicted many times.
700
01:00:41,853 --> 01:00:45,186
I've spent time in 14 different prisons.
701
01:00:46,586 --> 01:00:48,476
All of this has happened to me
702
01:00:48,476 --> 01:00:52,059
as a result of my
devotion to psychedelics.
703
01:00:53,703 --> 01:00:54,967
So, am I a criminal?
704
01:00:54,967 --> 01:00:57,134
Of course, I'm a criminal.
705
01:01:02,578 --> 01:01:05,251
- [Voiceover] Shortly after
the prohibition of LSD,
706
01:01:05,251 --> 01:01:08,712
over 20,000 people gathered
in the Golden Gate Park
707
01:01:08,712 --> 01:01:10,129
in San Francisco.
708
01:01:12,828 --> 01:01:15,385
The hippies, the oppositional students,
709
01:01:15,385 --> 01:01:18,120
the most diverse sections
in the protest movement
710
01:01:18,120 --> 01:01:22,426
brought together, and went
on an enormous demonstration.
711
01:01:22,426 --> 01:01:26,426
(crowd talking loudly together)
712
01:01:27,753 --> 01:01:28,753
- Six words:
713
01:01:30,198 --> 01:01:31,615
turn on, tune in,
714
01:01:34,417 --> 01:01:35,914
drop out.
715
01:01:35,914 --> 01:01:38,882
(crowd cheers and applause)
716
01:01:38,882 --> 01:01:42,132
♫ All you need is love
717
01:01:43,335 --> 01:01:46,585
♫ All you need is love
718
01:01:47,964 --> 01:01:50,584
♫ All you need is love
719
01:01:50,584 --> 01:01:54,751
♫ Love, love is all you need ♫
720
01:01:57,291 --> 01:01:58,556
- [Voiceover] The sound
of the youth movement
721
01:01:58,556 --> 01:02:01,139
concurred the major TV studios.
722
01:02:02,726 --> 01:02:05,134
The new mass media spread
the hippies' message
723
01:02:05,134 --> 01:02:07,134
across the entire globe.
724
01:02:08,100 --> 01:02:10,433
♫ It's easy
725
01:02:12,657 --> 01:02:15,907
♫ All you need is love
726
01:02:17,351 --> 01:02:20,601
♫ All you need is love
727
01:02:21,888 --> 01:02:24,639
♫ All you need is love
728
01:02:24,639 --> 01:02:28,389
♫ Love, love is all you need
729
01:02:29,857 --> 01:02:34,054
♫ All you need is love ♫
730
01:02:34,054 --> 01:02:36,280
- The city of San
Francisco has been warned
731
01:02:36,280 --> 01:02:38,359
of a hippie invasion come summer
732
01:02:38,359 --> 01:02:41,657
in numbers almost too
staggering to comprehend.
733
01:02:41,657 --> 01:02:45,310
Some estimates run as high
as 200,000 young people
734
01:02:45,310 --> 01:02:47,560
from all parts of the
country, and be expected
735
01:02:47,560 --> 01:02:50,668
to invade the city, and
the influx will affect
736
01:02:50,668 --> 01:02:52,636
primarily, the Haight-Ashbury.
737
01:02:52,636 --> 01:02:53,600
♫ In the street
738
01:02:53,600 --> 01:02:55,716
♫ Oh, in New York City
739
01:02:55,716 --> 01:02:57,322
♫ Dancin' in the street ♫
740
01:02:57,322 --> 01:02:59,822
- The media put in a big story
741
01:03:01,033 --> 01:03:02,571
about the Haight-Ashbury,
742
01:03:02,571 --> 01:03:04,542
and it was this lovely place to go,
743
01:03:04,542 --> 01:03:08,709
and you might see John
Lennon, or you know, perhaps--
744
01:03:11,099 --> 01:03:14,266
Anyway, they created a monster for us.
745
01:03:15,455 --> 01:03:18,931
And within a few weeks, it changed.
746
01:03:18,931 --> 01:03:23,434
People came from all over
America by the hundreds,
747
01:03:23,434 --> 01:03:27,493
and then the thousands,
and by early summer,
748
01:03:27,493 --> 01:03:30,744
there must have been
10,000 people sleeping
749
01:03:30,744 --> 01:03:34,911
on the sidewalks and in the
park, and in every alley,
750
01:03:36,232 --> 01:03:39,482
hungry, and homeless, and it was crazy.
751
01:03:49,165 --> 01:03:51,372
- Here, San Francisco, Haight Street,
752
01:03:51,372 --> 01:03:54,104
and all the dance floors, and you had
753
01:03:54,104 --> 01:03:58,255
2,000 people all taking
500 micrograms of LSD.
754
01:03:58,255 --> 01:04:01,959
I thought, "This was gonna be madness."
755
01:04:01,959 --> 01:04:04,667
I though this would have
been madness in all context.
756
01:04:04,667 --> 01:04:07,498
I couldn't see how that could work.
757
01:04:07,498 --> 01:04:10,081
How would you handle bad trips?
758
01:04:18,730 --> 01:04:20,851
- [Voiceover] 1967.
759
01:04:20,851 --> 01:04:25,018
The psychedelic movement in
full bloom. Summer of love.
760
01:04:26,498 --> 01:04:30,331
(crowd cheering and applause)
761
01:04:31,917 --> 01:04:33,825
- To the demons and America combined
762
01:04:33,825 --> 01:04:35,506
and put it together, okay?
763
01:04:35,506 --> 01:04:39,256
(Jimi Hendrix playing music)
764
01:05:23,602 --> 01:05:26,647
- Come on American folks, sing it with me.
765
01:05:26,647 --> 01:05:29,064
♫ Wild thing
766
01:05:31,164 --> 01:05:34,581
♫ You make my heart sing
767
01:05:37,015 --> 01:05:40,765
♫ You make everything groovy
768
01:05:42,351 --> 01:05:45,534
♫ You got my wild thing
769
01:05:45,534 --> 01:05:49,034
♫ Yeah ♫
770
01:06:33,640 --> 01:06:35,890
(crashing)
771
01:06:36,753 --> 01:06:40,420
(emergency response sirens)
772
01:06:59,122 --> 01:07:01,955
(guitar smashing)
773
01:07:27,980 --> 01:07:30,313
(screaming)
774
01:07:32,359 --> 01:07:34,942
(solemn music)
775
01:07:40,405 --> 01:07:41,802
(sirens wailing)
776
01:07:41,802 --> 01:07:42,946
- [Voiceover] There is a steady flow
777
01:07:42,946 --> 01:07:45,023
in the San Francisco
hospitals of young people
778
01:07:45,023 --> 01:07:47,328
who have freaked out and been picked up
779
01:07:47,328 --> 01:07:49,913
by the police in a state
of desperate terror.
780
01:07:49,913 --> 01:07:50,907
- Where are you taking me?
781
01:07:50,907 --> 01:07:52,026
Where are my friends?
782
01:07:52,026 --> 01:07:54,134
Do my friends know I'm here?
783
01:07:54,134 --> 01:07:55,024
(knocking)
784
01:07:55,024 --> 01:07:57,107
Where am I? Where are we?
785
01:07:58,511 --> 01:07:59,717
Where am I?
786
01:07:59,717 --> 01:08:01,258
- You're in the hospital here. Come on.
787
01:08:01,258 --> 01:08:02,091
- Who are you?
788
01:08:02,091 --> 01:08:03,921
- I'm Doctor McLain.
789
01:08:03,921 --> 01:08:04,879
- [Voiceover] The bad trip
790
01:08:04,879 --> 01:08:07,727
is a frightening thing to witness.
791
01:08:07,727 --> 01:08:10,897
It must be far more
terrifying to experience.
792
01:08:10,897 --> 01:08:12,686
- Where are you taking me? Where am I?
793
01:08:12,686 --> 01:08:13,950
- Come right around here to the--
794
01:08:13,950 --> 01:08:15,791
You're in the hospital.
795
01:08:15,791 --> 01:08:16,703
- Who are you?
796
01:08:16,703 --> 01:08:19,245
- I'm your nurse. What's your name?
797
01:08:19,245 --> 01:08:20,970
- Your hands are cold.
798
01:08:20,970 --> 01:08:22,803
- What's your name?
799
01:08:22,803 --> 01:08:23,636
- Joan.
800
01:08:23,636 --> 01:08:25,948
- Joan, I'm a nurse. Doc?
801
01:08:25,948 --> 01:08:28,219
- I don't wanna be here.
Where are my friends?
802
01:08:28,219 --> 01:08:32,386
(background noise drowns out other noise)
803
01:08:34,330 --> 01:08:37,497
(contemplative music)
804
01:09:23,163 --> 01:09:25,899
- The greatest pushers
in this country today
805
01:09:25,899 --> 01:09:29,497
are the missionaries who
make and distribute LSD
806
01:09:29,497 --> 01:09:34,072
because they are convinced
it's a wonderful way,
807
01:09:34,072 --> 01:09:38,239
as that poisonous, evil
man, Doctor Timothy Leary,
808
01:09:40,074 --> 01:09:44,241
has said, it is a way to turn
on, tune in, and drop out.
809
01:09:47,092 --> 01:09:48,716
- [Voiceover] Timothy Leary was pronounced
810
01:09:48,716 --> 01:09:52,883
by President Nixon, to be the
most dangerous man in America.
811
01:09:55,114 --> 01:09:58,624
A short time later, he received
a draconic prison sentence
812
01:09:58,624 --> 01:10:01,041
for possession of two joints.
813
01:10:05,789 --> 01:10:09,243
- What happened with Leary,
who made the psychedelics
814
01:10:09,243 --> 01:10:13,410
much more dangerous than they
would be in responsible hands,
815
01:10:15,522 --> 01:10:19,721
certainly increasing the risks
and minimizing the benefits,
816
01:10:19,721 --> 01:10:23,471
and literally killed
the legitimate research.
817
01:10:27,050 --> 01:10:29,049
- [Voiceover] Albert Hofmann's magic drug
818
01:10:29,049 --> 01:10:31,216
became his constant worry.
819
01:10:32,829 --> 01:10:37,346
LSD ended up where it had
started, in psychiatry,
820
01:10:37,346 --> 01:10:41,013
where it is still
tolerated in some clinics.
821
01:10:44,011 --> 01:10:47,623
- When I came to the United
States and I joined the team
822
01:10:47,623 --> 01:10:51,834
at Spring Grove, we were
using an approach that is
823
01:10:51,834 --> 01:10:54,590
now known as psychedelic,
824
01:10:54,590 --> 01:10:57,627
where a dose is significant.
825
01:10:57,627 --> 01:11:01,127
It's between 300 and five, 600 micrograms.
826
01:11:02,718 --> 01:11:07,307
We asked the patients to
keep their eyes closed.
827
01:11:07,307 --> 01:11:09,663
We were literally were using eye shades.
828
01:11:09,663 --> 01:11:13,320
We were using headphones, hi-fi music,
829
01:11:13,320 --> 01:11:16,800
and the talking was done
beforehand and after.
830
01:11:16,800 --> 01:11:20,815
That was a much more effective
approach to the therapy
831
01:11:20,815 --> 01:11:23,815
in terms of personal transformation.
832
01:11:24,755 --> 01:11:28,185
Dean Colweather is arriving
for his third LSD session.
833
01:11:28,185 --> 01:11:30,505
Cancer of the bowel gave
him almost constant pain,
834
01:11:30,505 --> 01:11:32,519
but this was controlled
for over six months
835
01:11:32,519 --> 01:11:34,678
as a result of his previous session.
836
01:11:34,678 --> 01:11:36,675
As well as that, the
drug has helped him come
837
01:11:36,675 --> 01:11:38,132
to terms with his condition,
838
01:11:38,132 --> 01:11:42,215
and even enjoyed the life
he knows will end soon.
839
01:11:44,387 --> 01:11:47,605
- When we were doing the
work with cancer patients,
840
01:11:47,605 --> 01:11:51,544
the basic assumption was
that they would somehow,
841
01:11:51,544 --> 01:11:55,377
very radically, change
their concept of death.
842
01:11:56,820 --> 01:11:58,506
- Did you get the last drop?
843
01:11:58,506 --> 01:11:59,589
- Every drop.
844
01:12:02,519 --> 01:12:06,117
- It's for people whom
knew that they could die
845
01:12:06,117 --> 01:12:09,092
in a matter of weeks or months,
846
01:12:09,092 --> 01:12:12,647
and they were able to be reconciled,
847
01:12:12,647 --> 01:12:15,290
and their way of being actually
848
01:12:15,290 --> 01:12:19,457
in the world from day to
day changed dramatically.
849
01:12:24,752 --> 01:12:27,349
It was a very, very
successful study besides being
850
01:12:27,349 --> 01:12:30,140
very moving a study, as you can imagine.
851
01:12:30,140 --> 01:12:33,057
(meditative music)
852
01:12:38,766 --> 01:12:42,298
People come first
programmed by our culture,
853
01:12:42,298 --> 01:12:44,881
that we are basically our body,
854
01:12:46,257 --> 01:12:49,470
and suddenly comes an
experience that shows you
855
01:12:49,470 --> 01:12:52,305
that you are something much larger,
856
01:12:52,305 --> 01:12:54,800
that you are not really just your body.
857
01:12:54,800 --> 01:12:58,503
So you start looking at death
as something that's death
858
01:12:58,503 --> 01:13:01,170
of the body, and you get a sense
859
01:13:03,781 --> 01:13:06,008
that death is a kind of an adventure
860
01:13:06,008 --> 01:13:09,925
in consciousness and
there is a sort of a large
861
01:13:10,972 --> 01:13:15,499
dimension there that you
actually knew nothing about.
862
01:13:15,499 --> 01:13:18,999
(hopeful, ethereal music)
863
01:14:05,198 --> 01:14:08,698
(energetic, trippy music)
864
01:14:24,546 --> 01:14:27,379
(liquid bubbling)
865
01:14:28,805 --> 01:14:31,828
After the special
authorizations finally expired
866
01:14:31,828 --> 01:14:35,328
in psychiatry, LSD disappeared underground
867
01:14:36,355 --> 01:14:39,355
as an internationally outlawed drug.
868
01:14:42,463 --> 01:14:44,837
Research in hallucinogenic substances
869
01:14:44,837 --> 01:14:47,254
seemed to fade into oblivion.
870
01:14:51,866 --> 01:14:55,318
- These cop outs were so demonized.
871
01:14:55,318 --> 01:14:58,708
The whole area was so discredited
872
01:14:58,708 --> 01:15:01,346
that we had this phenomenon which,
873
01:15:01,346 --> 01:15:03,429
for better than 30 years,
874
01:15:05,842 --> 01:15:08,409
the consensus opinion was
875
01:15:08,409 --> 01:15:12,576
this research was too dangerous,
or too edgy, to be done.
876
01:15:18,126 --> 01:15:22,293
- We started our work with
psilocybin in about 2000.
877
01:15:25,238 --> 01:15:28,405
It was difficult, but we got approved.
878
01:15:33,624 --> 01:15:36,610
People who are eligible for our trial
879
01:15:36,610 --> 01:15:40,099
are people who have
anxiety, and or depression,
880
01:15:40,099 --> 01:15:43,099
secondary to their cancer diagnosis,
881
01:15:44,039 --> 01:15:47,043
and they are struggling with
these existential questions
882
01:15:47,043 --> 01:15:51,210
of life and death, and their
own psychological discomfort.
883
01:15:56,058 --> 01:15:59,544
They go through two days of screening,
884
01:15:59,544 --> 01:16:02,296
in which they receive a physical exam,
885
01:16:02,296 --> 01:16:04,046
extensive psychiatric
886
01:16:05,806 --> 01:16:07,973
and psychological testing.
887
01:16:11,011 --> 01:16:14,067
So after preparation,
the volunteers schedule
888
01:16:14,067 --> 01:16:16,567
for their psilocybin sessions.
889
01:16:19,781 --> 01:16:22,995
What we would want and hope for them
890
01:16:22,995 --> 01:16:26,995
is that they have an
experience that's uplifting
891
01:16:27,964 --> 01:16:30,547
and alters their perceptual set
892
01:16:32,475 --> 01:16:37,176
in a way that makes the
remainder of their life
893
01:16:37,176 --> 01:16:40,926
and their struggle with
their disease process
894
01:16:42,234 --> 01:16:46,401
something that's really
quite manageable for them.
895
01:16:50,397 --> 01:16:53,616
- The prognosis was very poor.
896
01:16:53,616 --> 01:16:57,129
There were so many
treatments, and since I have
897
01:16:57,129 --> 01:17:00,629
a scientific background,
I got very preoccupied
898
01:17:00,629 --> 01:17:04,796
with researching everything,
you know, micromanaging.
899
01:17:07,136 --> 01:17:10,820
So my life just kind of
got narrower and narrower.
900
01:17:10,820 --> 01:17:14,570
I got more exclusively
focused on the cancer.
901
01:17:16,926 --> 01:17:18,926
I became more withdrawn.
902
01:17:20,608 --> 01:17:23,191
Finally my daughter and friends
903
01:17:25,194 --> 01:17:29,570
sort of told me that I
needed to do something.
904
01:17:29,570 --> 01:17:33,679
But I had no previous
experience with psychedelics,
905
01:17:33,679 --> 01:17:37,012
so I didn't know what to expect exactly.
906
01:17:46,146 --> 01:17:48,284
- Looks like this is for you.
907
01:17:48,284 --> 01:17:51,676
- A high proportion of
volunteers have what's called
908
01:17:51,676 --> 01:17:54,676
a primary, mystical type experience.
909
01:17:57,628 --> 01:18:01,215
And they're absolutely sure
that this experience is
910
01:18:01,215 --> 01:18:04,465
more real than everyday waking reality,
911
01:18:05,417 --> 01:18:09,545
and it's that element,
I believe, that imprints
912
01:18:09,545 --> 01:18:13,631
this experience into
people's consciousness
913
01:18:13,631 --> 01:18:17,214
in a way that has huge
value going forward.
914
01:18:22,790 --> 01:18:25,705
- In the beginning of the effects,
915
01:18:25,705 --> 01:18:28,122
starting in about 10 minutes,
916
01:18:29,113 --> 01:18:32,613
and it's like your brain is going offline,
917
01:18:34,211 --> 01:18:36,107
one part at a time.
918
01:18:36,107 --> 01:18:39,666
And I tell people this story
to make it a little clearer,
919
01:18:39,666 --> 01:18:41,372
since I do a lot of
sailing, and if you're out
920
01:18:41,372 --> 01:18:45,046
in the open ocean, and you
were to fall off your boat,
921
01:18:45,046 --> 01:18:47,431
you turn around and the boat's gone,
922
01:18:47,431 --> 01:18:51,189
and then pretty soon the water's
gone, and then your gone.
923
01:18:51,189 --> 01:18:54,606
You don't have any sense of self anymore.
924
01:18:55,449 --> 01:18:56,820
- Is that comfortable?
925
01:18:56,820 --> 01:18:57,653
- That's good.
926
01:18:57,653 --> 01:19:01,438
- Okay, now let's put some
headphones on you, okay?
927
01:19:01,438 --> 01:19:02,271
- Okay.
928
01:19:02,271 --> 01:19:04,231
- Remember to let us
know how the volume is
929
01:19:04,231 --> 01:19:06,745
if you want it higher or lower.
930
01:19:06,745 --> 01:19:10,412
(flowing, orchestral music)
931
01:19:16,905 --> 01:19:18,154
- For the first hour and a half,
932
01:19:18,154 --> 01:19:21,380
it was pretty frightening
because I was fighting it.
933
01:19:21,380 --> 01:19:22,796
I was resisting.
934
01:19:22,796 --> 01:19:24,125
I wanted to open my eyes
935
01:19:24,125 --> 01:19:27,303
and make things snap back into place.
936
01:19:27,303 --> 01:19:29,408
If I didn't have the
help of the people there,
937
01:19:29,408 --> 01:19:31,870
I would have left the room
and tried to walk around
938
01:19:31,870 --> 01:19:35,321
and get things to focus back in again,
939
01:19:35,321 --> 01:19:37,719
to look familiar again.
940
01:19:37,719 --> 01:19:41,547
So the supervision, I
think, is very important.
941
01:19:41,547 --> 01:19:45,214
(flowing, orchestral music)
942
01:19:54,998 --> 01:19:58,831
After about an hour and
a half, I calmed down.
943
01:19:59,805 --> 01:20:03,156
At one point, I thought I
might be in a cathedral,
944
01:20:03,156 --> 01:20:05,656
and I thought that it might be
945
01:20:07,242 --> 01:20:10,386
a good chance to talk with God. (laughs)
946
01:20:10,386 --> 01:20:14,610
So I, just in my mind I said,
"Well, if there was ever
947
01:20:14,610 --> 01:20:18,714
"a good time, this is it,
so talk to me," (laughs)
948
01:20:18,714 --> 01:20:19,587
and nothing happened.
949
01:20:19,587 --> 01:20:21,846
I did it again, and nothing happened.
950
01:20:21,846 --> 01:20:25,513
(flowing, orchestral music)
951
01:20:27,814 --> 01:20:30,131
There was just an
experience of familiarity,
952
01:20:30,131 --> 01:20:33,214
or tranquility, and during that time,
953
01:20:34,796 --> 01:20:37,120
I could pull up past relationships
954
01:20:37,120 --> 01:20:41,287
or current relationships, and
look at them in great detail.
955
01:20:52,480 --> 01:20:54,147
It was as if I was--
956
01:20:57,494 --> 01:20:58,327
Sorry.
957
01:20:58,327 --> 01:21:02,077
(dramatic, orchestral music)
958
01:21:40,478 --> 01:21:42,895
The depression itself lifted.
959
01:21:44,727 --> 01:21:46,618
I might fall into a depression,
960
01:21:46,618 --> 01:21:50,451
but I can pull myself
out of it pretty easily.
961
01:21:52,074 --> 01:21:56,239
It fundamentally changes the
way you approach the world
962
01:21:56,239 --> 01:21:58,301
so your opening out instead
963
01:21:58,301 --> 01:22:01,718
of narrowing down into a negative spiral.
964
01:22:04,742 --> 01:22:08,409
It's almost unbelievable
that after one day,
965
01:22:10,554 --> 01:22:13,760
and not any followup
medications or anything,
966
01:22:13,760 --> 01:22:15,677
that this could happen.
967
01:22:17,621 --> 01:22:20,454
(seagulls cawing)
968
01:22:39,632 --> 01:22:42,965
- I have had in my psychedelic sessions,
969
01:22:43,874 --> 01:22:46,308
quite a few experiences where I
970
01:22:46,308 --> 01:22:49,219
actually felt that I've already died,
971
01:22:49,219 --> 01:22:52,758
that I wasn't around for the beyond death.
972
01:22:52,758 --> 01:22:54,303
It was very, very convincing,
973
01:22:54,303 --> 01:22:58,307
and I was very surprised
when I actually returned
974
01:22:58,307 --> 01:23:02,057
to the situation, where
I took the substance.
975
01:23:04,090 --> 01:23:07,923
I considered it very
plausible that there is a
976
01:23:09,360 --> 01:23:13,527
experiential world where we
go into after the body dies,
977
01:23:14,449 --> 01:23:18,895
but of course, you will never
know until you get there,
978
01:23:18,895 --> 01:23:21,062
but it's like a very, very
979
01:23:22,230 --> 01:23:23,897
interesting journey.
980
01:23:34,656 --> 01:23:37,823
(metal door clanking)
981
01:23:50,276 --> 01:23:52,859
(trippy music)
982
01:24:00,026 --> 01:24:03,109
(door creaking open)
983
01:24:03,958 --> 01:24:08,125
- Well, right here is where it
was painted, "Nothing lasts."
984
01:24:09,046 --> 01:24:11,526
(laughs)
985
01:24:11,526 --> 01:24:13,137
That's what it said.
986
01:24:13,137 --> 01:24:17,137
(slow, dramatic ethereal music)
987
01:26:38,325 --> 01:26:41,408
(dark, heavy music)
76187
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.