Psychedelics Go Mainstream, Kind Of

Since psychedelic drugs were made illegal in 1970, they have occupied a small, relatively stable corner in Western culture. Roughly 1% of Americans used psychedelic drugs in any given year. Many of them were students or occasional ravers. And then there was also a small, relatively-stable “psychedelic underground,” in which psychedelic drugs were a central part of members’ beliefs, identity, culture, and even livelihood.