LSD
In a moment of inspiration, on LSD, a user creates a self-portrait on the wall of an apartment in Hollywood.
Photo: Los Angeles, California, 1966
A first-timer in the throes of a trip. “I experienced the desire to pull my hair out and pull my face off.”
Photo: Los Angeles, California, 1966
Early morning, under the influence of LSD, a woman is transfixed by a lightbulb.
Photo: San Francisco, California, 1965
Prior to its classification as a Schedule 1 drug, and before the advent of music festivals, LSD’s recreational use was low profile and generally limited to small groups of friends in intimate settings.
Photo: Hollywood, California, 1966
A user moves to the music of the The Grateful Dead, with his own shadow until he collapses, at The Acid Test on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood, CA, 1965.
Photo: Hollywood, California, 1965
Users trip on a Liquid light show at The Acid Test on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood, CA
Photo: Hollywood, California, 1965
A first-timer during a trip. “I experienced the desire to die, but not an actual death,” a young tripper said later.
Photo: Los Angeles, California, 1965
The Hollywood Acid Test, on the Sunset Strip, with The Grateful Dead providing the live music.
Photo: Hollywood, California, 1966
Tripping in Topanga Canyon. Spiritual guru Ram Dass would later state that “my most profound psychedelic experiences have been outside in settings untarnished by man's mind."
Photo: Los Angeles, California, 1966
Dr. Timothy Leary began his study of psychedelic drugs after being introduced to psilocybin in 1960 while a lecturer in clinical psychology at Harvard.
Photo: San Francisco, California, 1966
A mathematician sits in quiet contemplation.
Photo: San Francisco, California, 1965
The morning after in a small apartment after a long night of tripping off the Sunset Strip.
Photo: Hollywood, California, 1965
Additional photographs available upon request. Email Lawrence Schiller.