#71: Douglas George - The First To Mass Distribute LSD in America | The Psychedelic Series (1/5)
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Episode Description
Today, we sit down and hear from Douglas George, who was one of the first producers and distributors of LSD in California. Coming from humble beginnings in Iowa, George attended college as a physicist in Riverside before deciding he wanted to change the way that people thought about existence. Developing an interest in hallucinogenic drugs, George pushed aside his physics background and focused on producing a compound that was new to the world. Living in Hermosa Beach in Southern California, he tapped into the counterculture wave of the psychedelic experience by traveling up and down the coast handing out his own LSD. George did everything in the vain of scientific discovery as well as opening the public’s mind about the reality they lived in. Meeting Owsley Stanley in the early 1960s, George’s LSD was one of the main causes of the famed counterculture movement that sprouted up in San Francisco.
George’s motivations were always scientific, but that didn’t stop him from meeting and interacting with some of the icons of the Counterculture Movement on his journey. A journey that took him to new horizons, brought existential discoveries, and changed his brain in a way he never could have imagined.
Show Notes
Humble Beginnings: George describes his family background growing up in Iowa, as well as his first drug experience with his two brothers.
College: George attends UC Riverside as a physicist when he first hears about the new compound LSD.
Hermosa Beach: While working as a lab assistant, George attempts to manufacture LSD in a makeshift lab
Technicolor Dreams: After many attempts at making a potent product, George gets some key advice which leads to his first successful batch.
The Sugar Cube Distribution: George starts to produce and distribute LSD to college students at Berkeley, and quickly gains a reputation.
A New Way of Thinking: Having been saturated in the world of LSD for some time, George describes the effects of LSD on the mind.
Icons: Having developed a reputation in the counterculture community, George describes his experience meeting some of the most notable figureheads of the time.
Endless Growth: George describes his decline into solitude, the unexpected effects of psychedelics, and his vision of the future.
Links From the Episode
Paul Bindrim: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Bindrim
Owsley Stanley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owsley_Stanley
The Psychedelic Timeline: https://psychedelictimes.com/psychedelic-timeline/
Methedrine (Methamphetamine): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine
LSD Dendrite Connection <Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity - NCBI (08/08/2018)>: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6082376/
Grateful Dead: https://www.dead.net/
Alan Watts: https://alanwatts.org/
