PSYCHEDELICS - Sciencemadness.org

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____________________________________________________ Psychedelics
to achieve a natural unity with the cosmos and with ourselves."
Discussion
The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the feasibil-
ity of studying illicit LSD groups and to begin to develop
adequate techniques and instruments for this purpose. We
have hesitated about presenting observations so preliminary
and little representative. Indeed, our inclusion of information
regarding the two smaller, heterosexual groups was an at-
tempt to set in some perspective the material we presented in
greater detail on the homosexual group. On the other hand,
we decided that such presentation would be useful because
of the paucity of objective information in this area. In this
spirit, we would like to comment upon what we have observed.
In the first place, all the illicit LSD groups showed different
patterns of growth and development, apparently in con-
formity with the personalities of their core members. The
homosexual group grew rapidly and has existed for several
years. The two heterosexual groups remained small and went
out of existence after a few months, when the core member-
ship was seriously disrupted. In both heterosexual groups, the
members we interviewed felt that their groups did not grow
larger because they were not "prone to group activities."
On the other hand, the homosexual group included in its
founding members several very active, energetic, extroverted
types.
Each group tended to include persons similarly young,
middle class, and fairly well educated, and in each the mem-
bers were described as being alike in terms of social, political,
and religious attitudes and opinions. This similarity was
deemed desirable by the users because of the intimate na-
ture of the contact that took place under the drug. On the
other hand, it was also felt that some variety in the orienta-
tion of the members was desirable in order not to exhaust
the common experience of the group. Indeed, the decline of
one of the heterosexual groups was attributed in part to lack
of variety in the membership.
None of the groups tended to function as active proselytiz-