The Psychedelic Pioneers

The story of the psychedelic pioneers is part leading-edge medical research and part utopian idealism. Three gifted psychiatrists, in combination with an extraordinarily power drug, resulted in one of the most fascinating and controversial periods in Canadian history. Before LSD burst on the scene as fuel for wild psychedelic trips, it had an amazing, yet little-known history.

A surprising part of that history was written in a remote corner of the Canadian prairies. Over a span of fifteen years, from when the drug was first administered in 1952 until it was banned and made illegal in 1967, the use of LSD ranged from leading-edge psychiatric research into schizophrenia and alcoholism to volunteer testing on the general public.

As word of LSD’s amazing properties began to seep out of the laboratory, artists and intellectuals such as writer Aldous Huxley, filmmaker Paul Saltzman, architect Kyo Izumin and painter Ted Godwin began to experiment and travel to Saskatchewan to have their first experiences with LSD. The Psychedelic Pioneers takes us through the eyes of the three lead doctors involved in the LSD Saskatchewan Project.