Beyond Zero and One (Andrew Smart) / quote 168 of 171
Leary and the polarization over LSD
The late 1960s made the drug controversial because of the hippie movement and its mass unsupervised drug experimentation. The public controversy, and Leary’s popularity in the media, contributed to a polarized view about the drug. People like Leary, who felt it was his historic mission to make LSD known worldwide, promoted LSD as a way to reject the perceived stagnation and emptiness of American life.