^ but also to be fair, the people in the 60's were out of control. constant orgies, groups hanging around partying.. and even charles manson. i think the 60's hippie movement was cool, but it was far from perfect.
That's a mythical image, not the reality. Likely the writer that best captured those times was Hunter Thompson, but he did specialize in documenting the very image that didn't represent the common reality, but the more exciting, dangerous and lunatic fringe, which did make for exciting writing.
Typically a party might have had mostly beer, a few joints being passed around. Users tended to group with like users; you'd see four or five gather to smoke weed commonly.
It was difficult to be around people using weed without, over the course of time, being around people doing heroin or speed. People did in fact move from weed to hard drugs or acid. Hallucinatory drugs had a period of popularity that subsided to a lower level that continues today. The perception of weed as a "gateway drug", and the attribution of cause and effect was likely incorrect...since forced into illegality, pushers worked with various products. When a person went to get weed, he met someone who was happy to give him some free heroin to try out. Dangerous times for many...
Original research on the LSD etc indicated there might be some good uses for them, and I agree with that. The shutting down of research into this area was a mistake, maybe that will open back up.
Drug abuse, excepting or including the fraction which is self medication, is going to be around forever.
