Part 4/11:
However, the widespread cultural adoption of psychedelics in the 1960s, fueled by the counterculture movement, triggered fears and political backlash. LSD was initially legal, but negative reports—bad trips, unpredictable mental effects—along with turbulent social dynamics and the Vietnam War, prompted governments to criminalize it. In 1970, the Controlled Substances Act classified LSD as illegal, significantly hindering scientific research.
Despite prohibition, experimentation persisted. The narrative shifted from potential healing to the drug’s dangers, reinforced by media and policy. The drug was dubbed "America’s public enemy number one" in political speeches, discouraging open scientific inquiry.