Legalized Marijuana

           Timothy Leary famously stated his expectation that between 20 to 30 million Americans would, by the 1970’s, be using LSD regularly for their spiritual and psychological growth.  That was at a time when the total US population hovered close to 200 million, meaning that he foresaw a national use rate between 10 and 15 percent.  Leary urged Americans to follow his mantra to “turn on, tune in, and drop out” from both their familiar state of mind and their contemporary establishment.  This was his vision to “transform America.” 

Today, in a population of around 320 million, regular users amount to a mere 1.1 % of the population[1], far below Dr. Leary’s hope for the 1970’s.  Marijuana users are currently at around 7% of the population, although 38% admit to having tried it in their lifetime[2].  This is far above the LSD use rate, which is at 9.4% lifetime use[3].  As Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska begin their experiment with legalized recreational marijuana and several more open up to medicinal marijuana, we might begin to see the transformed America that Leary was pushing for.  Regular pot users still only amount to around half of what he predicted LSD users to be at.  And their reasons for using it may not exclusively be for the psychological and spiritual growth that Leary extolled.  But can the act of decriminalizing and even legalizing marijuana in various states be attributed to the counter-cultural movement of the 1960’s?

All things considered, not really.  At the very most, Leary’s “Transform America” movement could only be tangentially beneficial for the recent approval of marijuana legalization.  Many psychologists, various medical professionals and scientific historians even consider Leary’s fervent criticisms of government and mainstream society along with his questionable approach to LSD experimentation to be detrimental to legal acceptance of both psychedelics and marijuana[4].  Amidst the drug craze of the hippie generation which was cheered on by Leary and others, including fellow psychologist Richard Alpert (now Ram Dass), the Controlled Substance Act was approved by Richard Nixon and the Drug Enforcement Agency was created.  Both LSD and marijuana are on the highest schedule (I) of the CSA, meaning that the agency claims they have no known medical usefulness and having high potential for abuse[5].  These claims are at odds with almost all research on both drugs and shows a gross ignorance on the potential of these substances[6].  While most Americans now approve legalizing marijuana (51%[7]), the federal government remains obstinate in the face of public opinion and the mainstream scientific community.  Leary’s legacy, both good and bad, seems to be embodied in this dichotomy between governmental policy and public opinion.  Americans are undoubtedly less inclined to readily accept the relative safety and research potential of LSD, but it seems we may have a reached a tipping point for the acceptance of marijuana.  Timothy Leary’s desire for a nation both accepting and ingesting LSD is far from reality, but perhaps the country was turned on to accept marijuana.  How much of that, if any, is due to Leary’s mantras is likely small.  Maybe his antics even delayed progress on this front.  As a country, we will see the effects of legalizing marijuana in time.   

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[1] http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/nationwide-trends

[2] http://www.gallup.com/poll/163835/tried-marijuana-little-changed-80s.aspx

[3] http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/hallucinogens

[4] http://www.wired.com/2013/10/timothy-leary-archives/2/

[5] http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/schedules/orangebook/orangebook.pdf

[6] http://www.drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/DPA-MAPS_DEA_Science_Final.pdf

[7] http://www.gallup.com/poll/179195/majority-continues-support-pot-legalization.aspx