WI LSD during the Roaring Twenties

Let us say that during or perhaps before WWI an American discovers LSD (LAD with English spelling). What effect would its proliferation have on society during the 20s and beyond?

A quick beginning -

George Merck, fresh out of Harvard synthesizes the first batch of LAD in 1916. A couple days later, he accidentally gets some on his hand and feels a mild euphoria and decides to experiment further. He goes on the first 'acid trek' in history and once he realizes he hasn't been poisoned, begins to write down his experience and shares it with colleagues and his Harvard buddies. Some psychiatrists begin experimenting with it personally and on some college-aged volunteers.

Prohibition comes around and this academic and social elite begin experimenting with it as a substitute for alcohol. In Chicago, King Oliver tries it with Louis Armstrong, marking the beginning of 'acid jazz'. It starts to develop as a legal alternative to alcohol with 'psyche altering' effects.

Is this possible? Effects? Thoughts?
 
Let us say that during or perhaps before WWI an American discovers LSD (LAD with English spelling). What effect would its proliferation have on society during the 20s and beyond?

Note that Merck first synthesized MDMA in 1912 (as a possible treatment for hemophilia), but shelved it before anyone noticed its effect on humans.
 
Well just two nitpicks here: LSD wouldn't make you feel euphoric just like that, especially if you are dosed without your knowledge. Hoffman's first trip IOTL wasn't very pleasant, from what I've read, although it's not impossible that Merck could have the same tenacity as Hoffman and still try it again. Secondly MDMA is a completely different substance to LSD, but you already knew that of course (though I think MDMA might be a better trip, as they say, for the roaring twenties. Uninhabited and sudden euphoria, rather than psychedelic hallucinations.)
 
Hoffman's first trip IOTL wasn't very pleasant, from what I've read

He took 250 micrograms, the threshold dose being only 20 so it is not terribly surprising that he did have a bad trip. And I only used the word euphoria due to the hastiness of my post.

But you bring up a good point that MDMA might fit with them better. I originally thought about acid because it can simply be put in drinks and be more easily consumed while MDMA is commonly a pill, a bit foreign to drinkers of the day. Is MDMA consumable via drink though?
 
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"I Am'st Da Walrus. Goo-goo-Gajoobs, Ya Friggin' Mook."
 
i think this is a great what if. if lsd and/or mdma became popular a little earlier, say at the beginning of the 19teens, it could've had impacts on the Bolshevik revolution and Dadaism. very interesting idea
 
He took 250 micrograms, the threshold dose being only 20 so it is not terribly surprising that he did have a bad trip. And I only used the word euphoria due to the hastiness of my post.

But you bring up a good point that MDMA might fit with them better. I originally thought about acid because it can simply be put in drinks and be more easily consumed while MDMA is commonly a pill, a bit foreign to drinkers of the day. Is MDMA consumable via drink though?

Sure it is. MDMA crystals are easily solvable in water and the taste is pretty discrete as well. It can further be snorted (by crushing the crystals to a powder) and solving it in water also allows for injection which they did know about in 20s.
 

Hendryk

Banned
Interesting WI. The effects on 1920s pop culture, and in particular music and cinema, would be fascinating. Imagine acid-influenced expressionism and surrealism! (the "acid jazz" part is a clever idea too ;))
 
In 1886, Coca-cola contained cocaine. In 1930, a religion was founded in Brazil, called the Church of Santo Daime, based on ayahuasca, called daime, based on the drug DMT. The original drug existed in shaman lore for centuries. It's all a matter of market skills. Would you like some mushrooms with that salad?
 

Larrikin

Banned
Interesting... perhaps we could arrange for people to find it?

It was dropped when the noticed that it killed a quantifiable number of subjects when it was used. Didn't matter whether it was first time or 100th time, subjects died at a quantifiable rate.

In other words, there is a quantifiable chance that every time you use MDMA that it will kill you.
 
It was dropped when the noticed that it killed a quantifiable number of subjects when it was used. Didn't matter whether it was first time or 100th time, subjects died at a quantifiable rate.

In other words, there is a quantifiable chance that every time you use MDMA that it will kill you.

Just another reason to go with LSD.

Honestly, this whole idea came when I was watching the VH1 documentary "The Drug Years" and I kinda got frustrated with it because Prohibition was really America's first 'Culture War' of the 20th century, wets vs. dries, experimentation with sexuality and drugs (alcohol, reefer, cocaine, etc.).

@ Hendryk - Yes exactly! I think there is some already natural overlap with surrealism and psychedelic culture.

Now imagine the United States its 1929, people are taking LSD at fairly high rates and all of the sudden, its the Great Depression. Uhoh...

One hitch in all this is that America was pretty rural back then still but I suppose that the Great Depression might help the culture war issue by new rural people moving to the cities where these psychedelic and radical changes are happening. I don't see that turning out well.
 
"I say Jeeves," I said, giving the brandy a good gulp, letting it soothe my tongue like a silken hacksaw, "this does taste funny."

"Indeed, sir."

"In fact," I said after a moment's deep thought, "funny doesn't describe it."

"Sir?"

"Certainly not. Funny is when Boko Fittleworth trips over his shoelaces on the way to nicking some rozzer's helmet, then headbutting his fiance by accident and forcing you to come up with one of those wonderful plans. No. This is... well, it's actually dashed mysterious."

"I thought it might be, sir."

"I mean, I'm pretty sure that dragon wasn't in the room last time I checked, dancing the Charleston like nobody's business." And the hatstand had suddenly, even more terrifyingly, morphed into Aunt Agatha.

At this, I screamed and started diving under the bedclothes.

"Sir, I was of the opininon that some fortification may be required before our next meeting with Sir Watkyn. It appears, however, that these pills are not going as judiciously as I had planned." Jeeves literally shimmered out of the room, and returned a few moments later with a Charlie Chaplin moustache and Fred Astair tap dancing on the ceiling.

His footwork seemed to be going on in the old skull of mine, too, tapping like anything. I moaned softly, before being restored by one of his Bracers.

The moment the pneumatic drill in my skull stopped whirring, that blasted Valet of mine inquired as to whether I would desire his assistance in getting dressed.

It was; but not without him discovering my latest purchase: a black Trilby hat, with a yellow hatband. This, I felt, would give your's truly a certain flair in the metropolis. In Jeeves' view, the only flair I needed was a No.2 Very Light, inserted into said garment at double pace, preferably at great distance from human civilization. Well, that's Jeeves for you. When two men of iron live in close proximity, these little disputes tend to emerge every W. or so.

But, still, there was something about that Brandy. In fact, maybe I should get another. A third, even, to see if something nice emerges from the Stygian, Aunt infested depths...
 
It was dropped when the noticed that it killed a quantifiable number of subjects when it was used. Didn't matter whether it was first time or 100th time, subjects died at a quantifiable rate.

In other words, there is a quantifiable chance that every time you use MDMA that it will kill you.

That is not why they "dropped" it. When it was first synthesised they simply didn't realise it had any pharmacological effects (I believe they were searching for a pesticide). It took another 60 odd years until Alexander Shulgin decided to make some and see what happened if he ate it.

Furthermore what you are saying isn't actually true. The vast amount of users don't suddenly drop dead, although it has happened a couple of times.

EDIT: Ok, MDMA was originally synthesised as an intermediary to another compound against haemophilia. Seems they didn't even bother to test it on humans, as it was just a chemical step they had to go through to get to the medicine they wanted.


Interesting WI. The effects on 1920s pop culture, and in particular music and cinema, would be fascinating. Imagine acid-influenced expressionism and surrealism! (the "acid jazz" part is a clever idea too ;))

Acid Jazz is an actual existing genre, although one that came into being much later than the 1920s.
 
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I think the flappers and "hip" youth would be interested in it. Things were pretty bohemian and rebellious for the day (something our grandparents may not always admit when complaining about those darn hippies). Combine with that a whole post-Great war "Modernism" movement, criticism and rethinking of the system, people finding themselves, the whole "hip" modernist cultural movement with literary figures like Hemmingway, F. Scott Fitzergald, etc, and I think its a good era for acid.

"Reefer Madness" is equally feasible as a backlash, though.
 
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