Harvard Psilocybin Project
Encyclopedia
The Harvard Psilocybin Project was a series of experiments in psychology conducted by Dr. Timothy Leary
and Dr. Richard Alpert. The founding board of the project consisted of Leary, Aldous Huxley
, John Spiegel (later president of the American Psychiatric Association
), Leary's superior at Harvard University
David McClelland
, Frank Barron, Ralph Metzner
, and two graduate students who were working on a project with mescaline
. The experiments began some time in 1960 and lasted until March 1962, when other professors in the Harvard Center for Research in Personality raised concerns about the legitimacy and safety of the experiments in an internal meeting.
These concerns were then printed in The Harvard Crimson
and the publicity that followed resulted in the end of the official experiments, an investigation by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
that was eventually dropped, and the firing of Leary and Alpert.
Leary and Alpert’s experiments were part of their personal discovery and advocacy of psychedelics. As such, their use of psilocybin
and other psychedelics ranged from the academically sound and above board Concord Prison Experiment
, in which inmates were given psilocybin in an effort to reduce recidivism
, to frequent personal use.
The Marsh Chapel Experiment
, an example of the Project's activities, was run by a Harvard Divinity School
graduate student under Leary's supervision. Boston area graduate divinity students were administered psilocybin
as a part of a study designed to determine if the drug could facilitate the experience of profound religious states, and nine out of the ten divinity students reported such experiences. Leary's active participation in the experiment and its effects on Reverend Randall Laakko (who, at the time, was a student at the Divinity School) are depicted in a segment of a BBC
video, which can be viewed here.
At the time only Mescaline
and the Peyote
cactus were illegal, it would be five years until LSD
and psilocybin
were made illegal. Both Leary and Alpert had been rising academic stars until their battles with Harvard and their advocacy of the use of psychedelics made them major figures in the nascent counterculture
.
Huston Smith
's last work, Cleansing the Doors of Perception, describes the Harvard Project in which he participated in the early 1960s as a serious, conscientious, mature attempt to raise awareness around entheogen
ic substances. Of the members of the subgroup in which Smith took part, Leary is not listed.
Timothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
and Dr. Richard Alpert. The founding board of the project consisted of Leary, Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
, John Spiegel (later president of the American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international...
), Leary's superior at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
David McClelland
David McClelland
David C. McClelland was an American psychological theorist. Noted for his work on need theory, he published a number of works from the 1950s until the 1990s and developed new scoring systems for the Thematic Apperception Test and its descendants...
, Frank Barron, Ralph Metzner
Ralph Metzner
Ralph Metzner Ph.D. , is an American psychologist, writer and researcher, who participated in psychedelic research at Harvard University in the early 1960s with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert . Dr...
, and two graduate students who were working on a project with mescaline
Mescaline
Mescaline or 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class used mainly as an entheogen....
. The experiments began some time in 1960 and lasted until March 1962, when other professors in the Harvard Center for Research in Personality raised concerns about the legitimacy and safety of the experiments in an internal meeting.
These concerns were then printed in The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson, the daily student newspaper of Harvard University, was founded in 1873. It is the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates...
and the publicity that followed resulted in the end of the official experiments, an investigation by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is a governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with various responsibilities related to public health within that state...
that was eventually dropped, and the firing of Leary and Alpert.
Leary and Alpert’s experiments were part of their personal discovery and advocacy of psychedelics. As such, their use of psilocybin
Psilocybin
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug, with mind-altering effects similar to those of LSD and mescaline, after it is converted to psilocin. The effects can include altered thinking processes, perceptual distortions, an altered sense of time, and spiritual experiences, as well as...
and other psychedelics ranged from the academically sound and above board Concord Prison Experiment
Concord Prison Experiment
The Concord Prison Experiment was designed to evaluate whether the experiences produced by the psychoactive drug psilocybin, derived from psilocybin mushrooms, combined with psychotherapy, could inspire prisoners to leave their antisocial lifestyles behind once they were released...
, in which inmates were given psilocybin in an effort to reduce recidivism
Recidivism
Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior...
, to frequent personal use.
The Marsh Chapel Experiment
Marsh Chapel Experiment
The Marsh Chapel Experiment was run by Walter N. Pahnke, a graduate student in theology at Harvard Divinity School, under the supervision of Timothy Leary and the Harvard Psilocybin Project. The goal was to see if in religiously predisposed subjects, psilocybin would act as reliable entheogen...
, an example of the Project's activities, was run by a Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
graduate student under Leary's supervision. Boston area graduate divinity students were administered psilocybin
Psilocybin
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug, with mind-altering effects similar to those of LSD and mescaline, after it is converted to psilocin. The effects can include altered thinking processes, perceptual distortions, an altered sense of time, and spiritual experiences, as well as...
as a part of a study designed to determine if the drug could facilitate the experience of profound religious states, and nine out of the ten divinity students reported such experiences. Leary's active participation in the experiment and its effects on Reverend Randall Laakko (who, at the time, was a student at the Divinity School) are depicted in a segment of a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
video, which can be viewed here.
At the time only Mescaline
Mescaline
Mescaline or 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class used mainly as an entheogen....
and the Peyote
Peyote
Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote , is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico...
cactus were illegal, it would be five years until LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
and psilocybin
Psilocybin
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug, with mind-altering effects similar to those of LSD and mescaline, after it is converted to psilocin. The effects can include altered thinking processes, perceptual distortions, an altered sense of time, and spiritual experiences, as well as...
were made illegal. Both Leary and Alpert had been rising academic stars until their battles with Harvard and their advocacy of the use of psychedelics made them major figures in the nascent counterculture
Counterculture of the 1960s
The counterculture of the 1960s refers to a cultural movement that mainly developed in the United States and spread throughout much of the western world between 1960 and 1973. The movement gained momentum during the U.S. government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam...
.
Huston Smith
Huston Smith
Huston Cummings Smith is a religious studies scholar in the United States. His book The World's Religions remains a popular introduction to comparative religion.-Education:...
's last work, Cleansing the Doors of Perception, describes the Harvard Project in which he participated in the early 1960s as a serious, conscientious, mature attempt to raise awareness around entheogen
Entheogen
An entheogen , in the strict sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context. Historically, entheogens were mostly derived from plant sources and have been used in a variety of traditional religious contexts...
ic substances. Of the members of the subgroup in which Smith took part, Leary is not listed.
External links
- http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=253824 Harvard Crimson article about the Psilocybin Project
- The Vaults of Erowid Psilocybin mushrooms
- MAPS Psilocybin research