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

58 moments in this segment.

1. 1936-01-01 - Reefer Madness - Original 1936 Trailer (anti-drug propaganda). ) (1936).
2. 1960-06-01 - Declassified page from the CIA MKUltra files. A page of typewritten CIA documentation from Project MKUltra released through declassification. Commons holds it in the public domain as a United States government work, filed with secret intelligence documents, and records no named author.
3. 1960-06-01 - MKUltra document released under Freedom of Information. Another page from the MKUltra record, described on Commons as provided by the Central Intelligence Agency under a Freedom of Information Act request in 1995. The agency is credited directly as author of the file.
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 - LSD News Reports - 1966-1967 (archival). LSD News Reports, 1966-1967 (1966).
8. 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).
9. 1967-01-01 - Beyond LSD - 1967 (psychedelic scare film). ) (1967).
10. 1967-01-01 - Effects of LSD on the Mind - 1960s (Huntley Film Archives). ) (1967).
11. 1967-01-01 - Lysergic Acid Diethylamide - 1960s LSD Drug Scare Film (Periscope). ) (1967).
12. 1967-01-01 - LSD-25 - 1967 (educational anti-drug scare film). ) (1967).
13. 1968-01-01 - 1968: The LSD Panic and the War on Acid (archival report). ) (1968).
14. 1968-01-01 - LSD: Lettvin vs. Leary - 1968 debate (archival). LSD: Lettvin vs. Leary, 1968 debate (1968).
15. 1968-01-01 - LSD: Worth the Risk? - 1968 anti-drug filmstrip (archival). LSD: Worth the Risk? 1968 anti-drug filmstrip (1968).
16. 1970-01-01 - LSD and the Hallucinogens - 1970 (anti-psychedelic scare film). ) (1970).
17. 1970-10-27 - The Controlled Substances Act (1970) - explainer. (1970).
18. 1970-10-27 - The Controlled Substances Act - 1970 (reading of the text). ) (1970).
19. 1971-06-17 - Nixon's Address to the Nation on Drug Abuse - 1971 (Nixon Foundation). ) (1971).
20. 1971-06-17 - President Nixon Declares Drug Abuse 'Public Enemy Number One' - 1971. (1971).
21. 1971-06-17 - Nixon Announces a Massive New Fight Against Drugs - 1971 (AP Archive). ) (1971).
22. 1975-01-01 - Frank Church Open Senate Hearings on the CIA (archival). Frank Church Open Senate Hearings on the CIA (1975).
23. 1975-09-07 - CIA Director William Colby Before the Senate Committee - Sept 1975 (AP). ) (1975).
24. 1979-01-01 - Mission Mind Control - 1979 (ABC News documentary). ) (1979).
25. 1985-01-01 - Just Say No - 'Mr. T' Anti-Drug PSA, 1980s (archival). Just Say No, 'Mr. T' Anti-Drug PSA, 1980s (1985).
26. 1986-01-01 - Ecstasy On Campus - 1986 Special Report (archival). Ecstasy On Campus, 1986 Special Report (1986).
27. 1987-01-01 - Right to Say No (to Drugs) - 1987 (archival). Right to Say No (to Drugs), 1987 (1987).
28. 1987-01-01 - This Is Your Brain on Drugs - 1987 PSA (archival). This Is Your Brain on Drugs, 1987 PSA (1987).
29. 1988-01-01 - I Love 1988: Acid House Music and Raving (BBC). ) (1988).
30. 1988-01-01 - D.A.R.E. Commercial - late 1980s (archival). D.A.R.E. Commercial, late 1980s (1988).
31. 1988-01-01 - A Trip Around Acid House - World in Action, 1988 (Granada documentary). ) (1988).
32. 1988-01-01 - The Chemical Generation - Acid House Documentary. (1988).
33. 1988-06-01 - Late 1980s UK Rave - Second Summer of Love (Kinolibrary archival). ) (1988).
34. 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).
35. 1988-10-01 - BBC News on Acid House - 1988 (archival). BBC News on Acid House, 1988 (1988).
36. 1989-06-01 - 1989 Summer of Love Daytime Rave - Acid House (Kinolibrary). ) (1989).
37. 1989-06-01 - 1989 UK Outdoor Rave, Acid House - Summer of Love (Kinolibrary). ) (1989).
38. 1989 - The Summer of Rave 1989 (documentary). The Summer of Rave 1989 (1989).
39. 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).
40. 1992-01-01 - E Is for Ecstasy - BBC Everyman Rave Documentary 1992. (1992).
41. 1992 - 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.
42. 1992 - 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.
43. 1992 - Marusha at the decks, Berlin Summer Rave. A second frame of Marusha's live DJ set at the Berlin Summer Rave on the former Tempelhof airfield, taken earlier in the same night. Both images come from Denis Apel's accredited coverage of the event.
44. 1992 - Marusha playing a live DJ set at Tempelhof airfield. The German DJ Marusha performing a live set at the Berlin Summer Rave, held on the former Tempelhof airport apron in June 2015. Photograph by Denis Apel.
45. 1993-01-01 - Ecstasy & Shelley's Laserdome - Rave Documentary 1993. (1993).
46. 1993-01-01 - Danger of Ecstasy Raves - ITV News Documentary 1993 (archival). Danger of Ecstasy Raves, ITV News Documentary 1993 (1993).
47. 1994-01-01 - Free Party, Protest & the Criminal Justice Act - 1994 (archival). Free Party, Protest & the Criminal Justice Act, 1994 (1994).
48. 1994-01-01 - Ecstasy Testing - Rave New World, Channel 4, 1994 (archival). Ecstasy Testing, Rave New World, Channel 4, 1994 (1994).
49. 1997-01-01 - Generation E - Channel 5 Documentary, 1997 (archival). Generation E, Channel 5 Documentary, 1997 (1997).
50. 2001 - Ecstasy Rising - MDMA Documentary (2001). Ecstasy Rising, MDMA Documentary (1990).
51. 2011-06-17 - 40 Years Later: The War on Drugs Rages On (CBS). ) (2011).
52. 2016-01-01 - LSD's Long, Strange Trip - Retro Report (The New York Times). ) (2016).
53. 2016-01-01 - LSD Gets Another Look - Retro Report (PBS). ) (2016).
54. 2019-01-01 - MK-Ultra: The Cold War Experiments Hidden by the CIA (BBC Reel). ) (2019).
55. 2019-09-01 - Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA's Search for Mind Control. (2019).
56. 2019-11-01 - Tom O'Neill on the CIA's MKUltra Mind-Control Program (C-SPAN). ) (2019).
57. 2025-09-01 - House Oversight Panel Probes the CIA's MKUltra Program (PBS NewsHour). ) (2025).
58. 2025-09-01 - Full MKUltra Hearing: CIA's MKUltra Program Probed by Lawmakers. (2025).