DRUGS, ROCK AND ROLL, AND THE QUEER EXPERIENCE

The human experience and drug usage has always been intertwined, with almost all cultures across history using some kind of mind altering substances. At the onset of the Cold War in 1946, the CIA began a secret program called MKUltra, where they tested different types of drugs to achieve a mind control or “truth serum” that could be given to enemies during interrogations. One of the drugs used in tests was LSD, a psychotropic drug that causes hallucinations and altered realities. While LSD didn’t end up being a truth serum, the testing on the effects of the drug continued through the 1960s, which caused a unique intersection between the use of LSD and the growing popularity of a new musical revolution: rock and roll.

The use of hallucinogens was meant to enhance the sound and effect of the songs, turning music into an experience. 

PSYCHEDELIC ROCK

This genre reached its peak of popularity in San Francisco during the Summer of Love in 1967, and remained popular through the early 70s. Many famous artists from this decade experimented with or created psychedelic rock, including The Beatles, The Doors, Janis Joplin and the Holding Company, and Jefferson Airplane, just to name a few. The styles and sounds that came out of this era influenced many of the genres that followed, including progressive rock, hard rock, and heavy metal. Despite the US government studying the effects of LSD for over a decade, the use of the drug in subculture caused it to be banned in 1967. Subculture, however, remained as strong as ever (and hippies just imported drugs from other countries) and LSD continued to inspire both musicians and fans.

THE DARK PAST OF LSD

While the rise of psychedelic rock in tandem with LSD use is a fun and fascinating topic, it would be remiss to not mention the dark side of LSD: its use in gay conversion therapy. Scientists including Timothy O’Leary, a Harvard researcher who studied LSD in the 60’s, believed that LSD was “a specific cure for homosexuality.”

Dozens of queer people were subjected to psychedelic conversion therapy throughout the 50s and 60s in an attempt to erase their gayness. High, and often unsafe, doses of LSD were used in this therapy, and the only result was lasting trauma for the patients.

When LSD was banned in 1967, the practice slowly faded away, but the wounds created by it still lingered in the queer community. 

QUEERNESS AND PSYCHEDELICS

However, in modern day, some queer people have found euphoria, healing, and validation with psychedelics. Since LSD research in the past was mostly conducted only on cisgender men, current researchers are expanding this research to include women and queer people. Through this process, some queer people have shared positive experiences of LSD improving their well-being. These testimonies shared that LSD can help cope with societal pressures of conformity, combat gender dysphoria through validating trans and gender-fluid people, and allow a place for the mind to process complex traumas. This research is still fairly recent and still being conducted, but the results are a step forward towards helping all queer people feel safe and happy with who they are.

“Queerness and psychedelics alike offer the experience of shapeshifting— of re-envisioning what you can be.” –Bett Williams