Prohibition & the Underground

MKUltra, the LSD scare, Schedule I and the War on Drugs — and the ecstasy of the rave era and the quiet underground therapists who kept the work alive.

Part of Psychedelics

62 moments in this segment.

1. 1936-01-01 — Reefer Madness — Original 1936 Trailer (anti-drug propaganda). ) (1936).
2. 1960-06-01 — MKUltra (1960). The CIA's covert Cold-War program that dosed unwitting subjects with LSD in search of mind control.
3. 1960-06-01 — MKUltra (1960). The CIA's covert Cold-War program that dosed unwitting subjects with LSD in search of mind control (1960).
4. 1966-01-01 — 1966 Special Report: 'College LSD Party' (archival). 1966 Special Report: 'College LSD Party' (1966).
5. 1966-01-01 — Governor Ronald Reagan on LSD — 1966 (Historic Films archival). ) (1966).
6. 1966-01-01 — The Farthest Frontier — 1966: Mental Health and LSD (archival). The Farthest Frontier — 1966: Mental Health and LSD (1966).
7. 1966-10-06 — LSD Love Pageant Rally, Haight-Ashbury — Oct 1966 TV News (archival). LSD Love Pageant Rally, Haight-Ashbury — Oct 1966 TV News (1966).
8. 1967-01-01 — Beyond LSD — 1967 (psychedelic scare film). ) (1967).
9. 1967-01-01 — Effects of LSD on the Mind — 1960s (Huntley Film Archives). ) (1967).
10. 1967-01-01 — LSD-25 — 1967 (educational anti-drug scare film). ) (1967).
11. 1967-01-01 — Lysergic Acid Diethylamide — 1960s LSD Drug Scare Film (Periscope). ) (1967).
12. 1968-01-01 — 1968: The LSD Panic and the War on Acid (archival report). ) (1968).
13. 1968-01-01 — LSD: Lettvin vs. Leary — 1968 debate (archival). LSD: Lettvin vs. Leary — 1968 debate (1968).
14. 1968-01-01 — LSD: Worth the Risk? — 1968 anti-drug filmstrip (archival). LSD: Worth the Risk? — 1968 anti-drug filmstrip (1968).
15. 1970-01-01 — LSD and the Hallucinogens — 1970 (anti-psychedelic scare film). ) (1970).
16. 1970-10-27 — The Controlled Substances Act (1970) — explainer. (1970).
17. 1970-10-27 — The Controlled Substances Act — 1970 (reading of the text). ) (1970).
18. 1971-06-17 — Nixon Announces a Massive New Fight Against Drugs — 1971 (AP Archive). ) (1971).
19. 1971-06-17 — President Nixon Declares Drug Abuse 'Public Enemy Number One' — 1971. (1971).
20. 1971-06-17 — Nixon's Address to the Nation on Drug Abuse — 1971 (Nixon Foundation). ) (1971).
21. 1975-01-01 — Frank Church Open Senate Hearings on the CIA (archival). Frank Church Open Senate Hearings on the CIA (1975).
22. 1975-09-07 — CIA Director William Colby Before the Senate Committee — Sept 1975 (AP). ) (1975).
23. 1979-01-01 — Mission Mind Control — 1979 (ABC News documentary). ) (1979).
24. 1985-01-01 — Just Say No — 'Mr. T' Anti-Drug PSA, 1980s (archival). Just Say No — 'Mr. T' Anti-Drug PSA, 1980s (1985).
25. 1986-01-01 — Ecstasy On Campus — 1986 Special Report (archival). Ecstasy On Campus — 1986 Special Report (1986).
26. 1987-01-01 — Right to Say No (to Drugs) — 1987 (archival). Right to Say No (to Drugs) — 1987 (1987).
27. 1987-01-01 — This Is Your Brain on Drugs — 1987 PSA (archival). This Is Your Brain on Drugs — 1987 PSA (1987).
28. 1987-06-01 — Anti-drug PSA era (1987). The "This is your brain on drugs" era — the moral panic and the war-on-drugs messaging of the 1980s (1987).
29. 1987-06-01 — Anti-drug PSA era (1987). The "This is your brain on drugs" era — the moral panic and the war-on-drugs messaging of the 1980s (1987).
30. 1987-06-01 — Anti-drug PSA era (1987). The "This is your brain on drugs" era — the moral panic and the war-on-drugs messaging of the 1980s (1987).
31. 1988-01-01 — D.A.R.E. Commercial — late 1980s (archival). D.A.R.E. Commercial — late 1980s (1988).
32. 1988-01-01 — A Trip Around Acid House — World in Action, 1988 (Granada documentary). ) (1988).
33. 1988-01-01 — The Chemical Generation — Acid House Documentary. (1988).
34. 1988-01-01 — I Love 1988: Acid House Music and Raving (BBC). ) (1988).
35. 1988-06-01 — Late 1980s UK Rave — Second Summer of Love (Kinolibrary archival). ) (1988).
36. 1988-10-01 — BBC News on Acid House — 1988 (archival). BBC News on Acid House — 1988 (1988).
37. 1988-10-01 — 1980s News Report on the Acid House Scene in England (archival). 1980s News Report on the Acid House Scene in England (1988).
38. 1989-06-01 — 1989 Summer of Love Daytime Rave — Acid House (Kinolibrary). ) (1989).
39. 1989-06-01 — 1989 UK Outdoor Rave, Acid House — Summer of Love (Kinolibrary). ) (1989).
40. 1990-01-01 — BBC News South East: Acid House Rave Party Report — 1990 (archival). BBC News South East: Acid House Rave Party Report — 1990 (1990).
41. 1990-01-01 — Ecstasy Rising — MDMA Documentary (2001). Ecstasy Rising — MDMA Documentary (1990).
42. 1992-01-01 — E Is for Ecstasy — BBC Everyman Rave Documentary 1992. (1992).
43. 1993-01-01 — Ecstasy & Shelley's Laserdome — Rave Documentary 1993. (1993).
44. 1993-01-01 — Danger of Ecstasy Raves — ITV News Documentary 1993 (archival). Danger of Ecstasy Raves — ITV News Documentary 1993 (1993).
45. 1994-01-01 — Free Party, Protest & the Criminal Justice Act — 1994 (archival). Free Party, Protest & the Criminal Justice Act — 1994 (1994).
46. 1994-01-01 — Ecstasy Testing — Rave New World, Channel 4, 1994 (archival). Ecstasy Testing — Rave New World, Channel 4, 1994 (1994).
47. 1997-01-01 — Generation E — Channel 5 Documentary, 1997 (archival). Generation E — Channel 5 Documentary, 1997 (1997).
48. 2008-06-15 — LSD News Reports — 1966-1967 (archival). LSD News Reports — 1966-1967 (1966).
49. 2008 — The rave/ecstasy era (1992). The late-1980s Second Summer of Love, when MDMA and acid house filled warehouses across Britain (1992). The subject dates from 1992; this photograph was taken in 2008.
50. 2011-06-17 — 40 Years Later: The War on Drugs Rages On (CBS). ) (2011).
51. 2013-06-15 — The Summer of Rave 1989 (documentary). The Summer of Rave 1989 (1989).
52. 2014 — Anti-drug PSA era (1987). The "This is your brain on drugs" era — the moral panic and the war-on-drugs messaging of the 1980s. The subject dates from 1987; this photograph was taken in 2014.
53. 2015 — The rave/ecstasy era (1992). The late-1980s Second Summer of Love, when MDMA and acid house filled warehouses across Britain. The subject dates from 1992; this photograph was taken in 2015.
54. 2015 — The rave/ecstasy era (1992). The late-1980s Second Summer of Love, when MDMA and acid house filled warehouses across Britain (1992). The subject dates from 1992; this photograph was taken in 2015.
55. 2016-01-01 — LSD Gets Another Look — Retro Report (PBS). ) (2016).
56. 2016-01-01 — LSD's Long, Strange Trip — Retro Report (The New York Times). ) (2016).
57. 2019-01-01 — MK-Ultra: The Cold War Experiments Hidden by the CIA (BBC Reel). ) (2019).
58. 2019-09-01 — Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA's Search for Mind Control. (2019).
59. 2019-11-01 — Tom O'Neill on the CIA's MKUltra Mind-Control Program (C-SPAN). ) (2019).
60. 2024 — The rave/ecstasy era (1992). The late-1980s Second Summer of Love, when MDMA and acid house filled warehouses across Britain (1992). The subject dates from 1992; this photograph was taken in 2024.
61. 2025-09-01 — House Oversight Panel Probes the CIA's MKUltra Program (PBS NewsHour). ) (2025).
62. 2025-09-01 — Full MKUltra Hearing: CIA's MKUltra Program Probed by Lawmakers. (2025).