The Generational Trends of Psychedelic Influence

03.27.24

Have You Passed the Acid Test?

By: Jade Aurora Whitmore 

Psychedelic influence flourished during the 1960s, survived the War on Drugs in the 1970s, returned during Y2K and exists with us today. We see it in our clothes, accessories, home decor and even high fashion. So how does it stay prevalent? 

Lysergic Acid Diethyl-amide played a critical role in societal trends during the 1960’s counterculture movement. During this era, people began to challenge mainstream ideas by expressing their individuality. Taking a drug to expand your perspective past traditional norms became a hot topic. “Countercultural ideas, symbols, fashions, and music were all greatly influenced by the drug [LSD].” Scott Stephenson wrote in a 2016 journal. To be asked, “Have you passed the acid test?” Was to be asked if you were a supporter of counterculture: its ideas, fashion, and music taste. It was more than an experience – it was an identity, a movement people took pride in belonging to.

The relevance of LSD to ‘60s counterculture would be seen until Dec. 6, 1969, when The Rolling Stones hosted a free festival at Altamont Speedway in California. The Stones management hired the Hells Angels, a notorious outlaw motorcycle group involved in illegal drug distortion and transportation, as security. 

During the festival, fights broke out between the motorcycle club and the crowd. The fight began when one of the Hells Angels security members stabbed and killed 18-year-old Meredith Hunter. The stabbing was one of many at Altamont; several other deaths and severe injuries from the fights were

the final nails in the coffin of the counterculture movement, its popularity already dwindling. The death of the movement ended trends that had been popularized during the era such as riding Harleys, legal LSD, and counterculture communes. No one wanted to be associated with it anymore. 

Though 1970s fashion understandably had its influence from the 1960s, there was less of a direct tie to psychedelics. It featured a more bohemian, hippie style: floral dresses, crochet and bell bottoms. The ‘70s marked the beginning of the “War on Drugs,” a government initiative that aimed to stop illegal drug use, and there was no place for positive psychedelic connotations in American media. 

30 years later, psychedelic influence was resurrected by the Y2K stoner style in the form of a pot leaf. Eluding the stigma associated with marijuana and other psychedelics, psychedelics in American media became popular once again. An article from MedMen, a cannabis dispensary, stated “Wearing a pot leaf no longer signified that you smoked weed. Abstracted from political meaning, it began to signal little more than a graphic trend with a commercially friendly edge.” Pot leaves had their own identity, one that grew beyond the act of getting high, and instead spoke to being a part of the current pop culture. Hip Hop artists, such as Snoop Dogg, N.W.A and The Notorious B.I.G, promoted the style with oversized silhouettes, chunky jewelry, jerseys and of course, pot leaves. 

While interviewing Western Washington University students to answer the question “What do young adults think of the trends for psychedelic drug usage, including marijuana, in America today?” One student said, “It's becoming more and more common for kids, especially high schoolers to experiment with that kind of thing [psychedelics]. It is more accepted nowadays to experiment in general, not just with drugs, as society is opening its mind a bit more.” 

With more research being done on the impact of psychedelics, as well as safer ways to try using some of these drugs, American youth, especially in states such as Washington, California or Colorado, are becoming more interested in psychedelics. Another Western student said, “all of my friends and all my family members have tried at least smoking weed.” There is no doubt that the rising interest is prominent.

How have fashion and styling trends responded to this rising interest and normalization of the use of psychedelics? If you were to walk into the Western Washington University bookstore, you’d see a tote bag with psychedelic mushrooms on it. They have even found their way into high fashion as the 2021 spring couture collection from Vogue featured mushroom inspired looks. In a Vogue Magazine article by Emily Farra, she expressed that “Spring fashion is usually about florals, pastels, and maybe a tropical print here and there. But today’s trending motif is…mushrooms.” From high fashion to your mug collection, psychedelics are everywhere. The influence lives on, whether we are aware of it or not, and with it a desire for wonder in our short, beautiful lives.