ABSTRACT
A Gallup Poll reports that the nation's college students have tried psychedelic drugs — an increase of 1800 percent in the past four years — at a time when the government has halted most research on the uses of these drugs as too dangerous and spends millions of dollars to control their use. Psychedelic drugs are powerful and unpredictable, and sometimes result in difficulties which need medical or crisis intervention. The growing use of psychedelics would be explained if experiences with these drugs help young people to reach their goals. The frequency of positive reports by young people, and the similarity in accounts of psychedelic therapy with certain aspects of the youth culture, suggests that positive results of psychedelic use are causes as well as results of the development of a new culture by youth. The use of psychedelics is a calculated risk by young people — a healthy and adaptive behavior in the current conflict of values.
