Hallucinogenic Drugs: Perils and Possibilities
- Source: The Hastings Center Studies Vol 2 No 1 (Jan 1974)
- Author: Dr. Louis Joylon West
West was an odd character indeed. As chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma during the 1950s and 1960s, he secretly received money from the CIA to carry out MKULTRA experiments. However, it is unknown whether West knew of the Agency’s involvement. West also kept correspondence with psychedelic enthusiast Aldous Huxley. Huxley suggested the doctor try hypnotism to guide an LSD experience into desired (or undesired) realms of the mind.
In this paper, West covers the waterfront of psychoactive and “hallucinogenic” agents. He outlines how they could be used for good or ill in various “categories [of] human affairs.” These areas include medicinal to poisoning; learning enhancement to mind dulling; and mysticism to “Mansonism.”
Part of West’s research included uncover work in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. He rented an apartment and clandestinely studied hippie culture during the latter part of the 1960s. As reflected in this paper, West determined that using psychoactives to manipulate behavior was speculative at best due to their unpredictable nature.