aula9_further

Prévia do material em texto

Further Bus 
 
Beginning in 1959, Kesey had volunteered as a research subject for medical trials 
�nanced by the CIA's MK ULTRA project. These trials tested the e�ects 
of LSD, psilocybin , mescaline , and other psychedelic drugs. After the medical trials, 
Kesey continued experimenting on his own, and involved many close friends; 
collectively they became known as "The Merry Pranksters." The Pranksters visited 
Harvard LSD proponent Timothy Leary at his Millbrook , New York retreat, and 
experimentation with LSD and other psychedelic drugs, primarily as a means for 
internal re�ection and personal growth, became a constant during the Prankster trip. 
The Pranksters created a direct link b etween the 1950s Beat Generation and the 
1960s psychedelic scene; the bus was driven by Beat icon Neal Cassady , Beat 
poet Allen Ginsberg was onboard for a time, and they dropped in on Cassady's friend, 
Beat author Jack Kerouac — though Kerouac declined to participate in the Prankster 
scene. After the Pranksters returned to California, they popularized the use of LSD at 
so-called " Acid Tests ", which initially were held at Kesey's home in La Honda, 
California , and then at many other West Coast venues. 
Experimentation with LSD, Peyote , psilocybin mushrooms , MDA, marijuana , and 
other psychedelic drugs became a major component of 1960s counterculture, 
in�uencing philosophy, art , music and styl es of dress. Jim DeRogatis wrote that 
peyote, a small cactus containing the psychedelic alkaloid mescaline , was widely 
available in Austin, Texas , a countercultural hub, as early as 1961.