Educational Media Reviews Online

If you need a film demonstrating that science and medicine are culture bound, this is it. As a member of the baby-boom generation I sat down to watch this film thinking, what can I learn about LSD that I don’t already know? And, more importantly, how interesting can it be? Well, I learned plenty—the history of science is stranger and more fun than fiction. And in the able hands of creators of this film and the National Film Board of Canada the story of this drug is compelling, thought provoking ( I’ll restrain myself and not say mind-blowing) and scholarly.

Best of all, the 60 year history of this drug is told through original or archived interviews with most of the key players, including Albert Hofmann, Ram Dass (Richard Alpert), and Aldous Huxley’s widow. They describe a drug found by serendipity in the Sandoz lab in Switzerland that was later researched by psychiatrists in Canada to determine its benefits to alcoholics and schizophrenics. The U.S. Army also researched its use in warfare. Its movement into the popular culture initially was part of a spiritual quest of intellectuals, and then in its final stage, the one most familiar to us, LSD moved into the counter-culture and became identified with psychologist Timothy Leary.

The original scientists now argue that LSD should be returned to the laboratory and scientific research in order to determine its therapeutic uses. Others argue that LSD has a place in our culture, but we have yet to shape what that place is. There is a poignant scene with Ram Dass who is now in a wheelchair as the result of a stroke; he describes how using it has helped him feel happier and accepting of his medical condition. Considering our culture’s current preoccupation with anti-depressants and their ability to release the “real person” inside of us, it doesn’t seem so far fetched to bring LSD and other psychoactive agents into the discussion of how to provide relief and comfort to people dealing with end-of life issues.

Technically the film is very strong; the sound is clear, music is used effectively and the film includes some gorgeous aerial views and footage of the prairies of Saskatchewan.

Educators can use this film to demonstrate the movement of ideas through popular culture, the history of psychiatry and medicine, and American counter-culture in the 1960s and 1970s. But it is most valuable as a tool to illuminate a difficult concept- how science and research is a culture-bound activity. It will be sure to spark some lively class discussion!