Psychedelics and the Left?

[Neon Dandelions]

During the social upheavals of the 1960s, the Left saw a rather large revitalization throughout the world. Many groups such as the Students for a Democratic Society and the Black Panthers formed to push much of the agenda of the left.

Inextricably tied to many of these groups were hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, Psilocybin, and Peyote. Much of the Counter-cultural Left promoted these substances as valuable tools to self-realization and building understanding and empathy for others.

My question is, do you think psychedelics have any sort of relevance to the Left today? Is their use beneficial or detrimental to leftism?

[Quail]

I don't know if psychedelics are relevant t the left... but they're fun and mescaline is good for my menta health

[d3crypt]

I think their use should be encouraged. :lol:

[Remus Bleys]

Weren't the Black Panthers anti-drug though?

Opiate is the Opiate of the masses.

[cyu]

Opiate is the Opiate of the masses.

Lol - well, can't argue with that.

It's like drinking I think. Drinking doesn't help your driving, and drugs that impair you won't help if you're fighting a war. That doesn't necessarily mean you should never drink - just that when driving, it's not such a good idea.

The same applies to war / class war.

[Sperm-Doll Setsuna]

Drinking doesn't help your driving, and drugs that impair you won't help if you're fighting a war. That doesn't necessarily mean you should never drink - just that when driving, it's not such a good idea.

Why should you drink?

Naturally people do drink, for a myriad of reasons, to 'loosen up' in social situations, to quench the pain, to fulfill social obligation to do so, so on, but what are these but symptoms of a sick world and a sick life? That interaction is so awkward drink is required, that the mindnumbing boredom and mundaneity of work and the other drab things requires stimulants to be made anything remotely bearable, etc.

It is important to consider the material conditions, and not treat something as 'just how it is' and always will be.

[Yuppie Grinder]

Acid is fun but it won't enlighten you or anything. Dumb hippies are the only people that think that.

[Creative Destruction]

Weren't the Black Panthers anti-drug though?

Opiate is the Opiate of the masses.

I think they were officially down on cocaine and heroin. The more authoritarian Panthers had a personally dim view on pot and psychedelics but I don't recall the official organization cared much about those drugs.

Psychedelics were fun when I was younger, but I'm mostly not with taking drugs nowadays, including alcohol. I'm still interested in DMT, but I think that'll remain a distant fascination. I don't think it has any consequences for the Left itself, though. It may actually harm political activities since the general public, while becoming more liberal about drug use, is still not digging on drugs.

eta. The Zapatistas are down on any kind of drugs that aren't traditional. In many of the EZLN strongholds, there are signs posted up saying that drug pushers will be dealt with.

eta 2. This might be useful: Capitalism Plus Dope Equals Genocide (http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/black-panthers/1970/dope.htm) by the Black Panthers. It primarily deals with the heroin epidemic, but there is a nod toward alcohol and the liquor stores that are set up in the ghettos.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Why should you drink?

Naturally people do drink, for a myriad of reasons, to 'loosen up' in social situations, to quench the pain, to fulfill social obligation to do so, so on, but what are these but symptoms of a sick world and a sick life?

Well considering substance use a symptom already seems to imply it's a problem. People from all regions and cultures developed alcohol and used mind-altering substances historically, so it seems that from band societies to today, people used stimulating, intoxicating, and hallucenegenic substances. The customs and sort of cultural self-regulation around use of these things seems to have varried, and so I think how a society reacts and views use of substances can be a "symptom" of certain structural things in that society. But honestly, I think most evidence points to the historical universality of substance use by humans and apparently other animals as well.

So I think the use by humans of mind altering substances is really only a symptom of substances having a mind or mood altering effect on humans!


That interaction is so awkward drink is required, that the mindnumbing boredom and mundaneity of work and the other drab things requires stimulants to be made anything remotely bearable, etc.

It is important to consider the material conditions, and not treat something as 'just how it is' and always will be.chronic abuse or use to the extent of interfering with functioning in daily life are probably linked to things like alienation in capitalism, social atamoziation, etc... But even then, I think we might alternately ask: isn't it the demands of daily life in capitalism that gets in the way of our drinking?

[Flying Purple People Eater]

Can't some psychedelics really screw you over, though?

I remember reading about a girl in Amsterdam who took magic mushrooms and subsequently jumped off a bridge and killed herself.

[Jimmie Higgins]

During the social upheavals of the 1960s, the Left saw a rather large revitalization throughout the world. Many groups such as the Students for a Democratic Society and the Black Panthers formed to push much of the agenda of the left.

Inextricably tied to many of these groups were hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, Psilocybin, and Peyote. Much of the Counter-cultural Left promoted these substances as valuable tools to self-realization and building understanding and empathy for others.

My question is, do you think psychedelics have any sort of relevance to the Left today? Is their use beneficial or detrimental to leftism?

No, I don't think there was any causal relationship between these things and really, the sort of came from slightly different cultural directions. I think basically drug use became a larger and more normal part of the youth culture (rather than just being a sort of bohemian thing) at a time when there was a large youth radicalization happening.

Subjectively, or personally, people can have very fun, scary, interesting, intense experiences... But I think how they subjectively think about that experience will be based in their existing worldview and feelings. So someone who is spiritual may interpret a drug trip as mystical, others who are socially or politically oriented may experience insights in these areas. (I don't think drugs give people epiphanies or anything, I think they alter your mind and thought process... And seeing things in a different way sometimes leads to epiphanies... But you also don't need drugs for that).

On a practical level, I think one thing that can definitely said about drugs and revolutionary politics is that the legal and repressive threats are no joke. Radicals should be very cautious and not be cavalier about any personal activity that may allow the state to use repression. Drug addiction and recreational drug networks in the new left allowed the state to repress groups and individuals. Even when a cop might ignore an activity if it's just on a college campus or park in the suburbs... That same activity in places where radicals or activists organize will be used as an excuse for political repression if the state wants to.

[Creative Destruction]

Can't some psychedelics really screw you over, though?

I remember reading about a girl in Amsterdam who took magic mushrooms and subsequently jumped off a bridge and killed herself.

well, with any psychedelics, because you're putting yourself in an extreme state of delusion, you need to make sure that you have a trusted "babysitter." you need to do everything in your power to put your conditions under control. otherwise, you're just being irresponsible. that girl jumping off a bridge and killing herself while on mushrooms is just like the drunkard who gets behind the wheel and ends up wrapping themselves around a telephone pole.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

Why should you drink?

Naturally people do drink, for a myriad of reasons, to 'loosen up' in social situations, to quench the pain, to fulfill social obligation to do so, so on, but what are these but symptoms of a sick world and a sick life?

...

It is important to consider the material conditions, and not treat something as 'just how it is' and always will be.

If people are living sick lives in a sick world, then they have been doing so for thousands of years at least. If drinking alcohol is symptomatic of some kind of malaise, then it pre-dates capitalism by a very long time.

I don't think the world or the lives its inhabitants lead is in any way "sick". There are a lot of things which are wrong and which should be put right, but to pathologise the entirety of civilisation is to write it off. If everyone is so terribly sick and ain't getting better in the foreseeable future, then is that not a charter for global euthanasia rather than global revolution?

Fuck that noise! The world is worth saving!

[Snard]

I have only read the OP during the time of me typing this.

I personally love psychedelics. I don't know how self-incrimination works here, so I'll just type SWIM (someone who isn't me) as an ode to DrugsForum.

SWIM has taken many psychedelics and has found that they do in fact expand your mind in more way than just one. SWIM thinks that drugs get a bad rap for stereotypical reasons. Personal freedom and true leftism go hand-in-hand, so people can do them if they wish.

All things have the potential to be bad or good. LSD can make you slip into a psychotic break if you don't have a hold of yourself, or it can help you think in ways you never thought possible before and give you new ideas for anything. I do, however, think that if you don't have a stable enough hold on yourself psychologically (i.e. severe anxiety and no medication for it) then you shouldn't take mind-bending psychedelics. That's an almost guaranteed recipe for disaster.

[Ethics Gradient, Traitor For All Ages]

I'm not sure what 'enlightenment' actually is so whatever who cares, but there was one specific acid trip that I can honestly say changed my life and the way I view and interact with the world, so I think it's foolish to dismiss those experiences as totally meaningless. But I'm not sure what explicit political role hallucinogens could have. Looking back on the 60s it looks like they played a somewhat negative role in the context of class struggle. Escape into the ivory tower and all that. Acid was new and up until the mid 60s had the backing of official research organs, now it's been criminalized for decades and everyone thinks you'll jump out of a window or sacrifice your pet dog while you're on it. I doubt it could become really widespread in popular culture again any time soon.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Another question is what is the relevance of revolution to LSD. I think it would make it a much more enjoyable experience. First of all Disneyland will have become commonly owned so there wouldn't be any Disney police trying to prevent us from dropping acid and riding the Priate ride over and over and over again.

But more to the point, a less alienated society where public spaces are welcoming rather than privitized "shop, work, or move your ass out of here" zones, would certainly remove the source of a lot of the paranoia I've felt when I did these substances in the past. Not having to worry that if something goes wrong you'll end up calling the hospital only to have to also talk to cops (because medical care would be free and non-moralizing and there'd be no cops!) would also reduce anxiety. Having more free time would mean that I would probably still indulge in these kinds of activities (seriously, working full time reall cuts into my experamentation time, and I honestly feel like I don't have enough free-time or energy anymore for a 8-12 hour trip followed by a day of resting/reflecting).

So please, can we have a revolution while my favorite bands are still alive and touring... please!

[Fred]

Hmmmmmm. Having some acquaintance with psychedelics I would say that they are interesting, but not for the feint of heart. And really, have nothing to do with revolutionary activity, anymore than flowers and beads do. After the revolution there will be time to thoroughly assess what they offer to humankind. Meanwhile, because they can induce psychosis and other undesirable mental states -- comrades should proceed with caution. And with regards to LSD, research suggests that more than 50 total trips, lifetime, puts one at significant risk for long-term unwanted side effects.