University of Virginia Library

Buckman Sorts Myths From Reality In Drug Study

By Charles Hite
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

LSD: an illicit, mind-destroying evil to some, a
treasured mind-manifesting experience to others,
and perhaps to most - a vague, confusing
puzzle. To Dr. John Buckman, an associate
professor of psychiatry at the University Medical
School since 1966, the hallucinogenic drug has
been a subject of study for more than 13 years.

Acid is more than just an investigative topic for
Dr. Buckman; he is not an ivory tower researcher,
uninvolved and unconcerned. Many of his hours
have been spent speaking to high school, college,
civic and other groups in an effort to clear up
common misconceptions about LSD and drugs of
all types.

Dr. Buckman's history and record in the field
of drugs is impressive. Born in Poland, he travelled
to England as a boy in 1938, earning a medical
degree from Kings College in London by 1950. His
research with LSD began at London's Marlborough Day
Hospital in 1946. There he also participated in group
therapy sessions with , marijuana and amphetamine
users.

Court Witness

He has testified before civilian and military courts in
Great Britain and the United States. Two years ago he
testified before the Virginia General Assembly, arguing
against legislation which would have classified LSD as a
narcotic. Two months ago he spoke before the Virginia
Highway Safety commission. This August he presented a
paper on the "Social and Medical Aspects of Illicit Use of
LSD" at the Second International Congress of Social
Psychiatry in London.

In the near future he will participate in an all day
seminar on drugs at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.

A little over two years after his arrival at the
University, Dr. Buckman issued a statement to all
departments at the University in which he cautioned
against the lack of education about drugs, adding that it
was "disturbing to find that the vast majority of
professional people, including lawyers, are quite unaware
of the nature and penalties which are mandatory in cases
of drug abuse."

Dr. Buckman is still concerned about the laws
governing the possession and use of drugs, especially
marijuana and LSD. He believes that they are "too strict"
although he sees the drug legislation recently passed by
Congress, and soon to become law, as a step in the right
direction; penalties are generally less severe and there is
some discretion allowed judges in handing out sentences.

Judges Option

Dr. Buckman would like to see judges have the option
to commit some drug abusers to psychiatric treatment;
even if a person is not addicted before he is sentenced, Dr.
Buckman believes he is very likely to come into contacts
with narcotics in prison.

Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of Dr. Buckman's
attitude toward LSD and other drugs is that he does not
simply look at the effects of the drug itself but places it in
the context of society as a whole. "We have not yet
understood the phenomenon of drugs fully;" rather than
placing all attention on the effects of drugs he advocates
"looking at people,...not just the drug but the culture
surrounding the drug."

He sees the increased use of drugs by today's young
people as "not a new phenomenon in a vacuum" but one
which developed in a "very fertile" background. "We live
in a drug addicted society...Children are born in homes
that already think in terms of 'a pill for every ache.' "

Abuse of barbiturates (especially the "so-called
sleeping pills") and amphetamines ("the extent of
amphetamine use is fantastic") have created a growing
sense of alarm in Dr. Buckman. Unlike marijuana and
LSD, he pointed out, these are addictive drugs and can
produce withdrawal symptoms.

Dr. John Buckman

"Tranquilizers and the nicotine in tobacco are also
everyday dangerous agents that are frequently overlooked
in a drug addicted society," he said. "The last two
generations think very much in terms of psycho pharmacology
- people are using drugs to feel better."

Tranquilizers are being "grossly over abused," with
"tons and tons" used needlessly every day, he claimed.
"In a way alcohol is still the best tranquilizer - but it
leads to addiction."

The situation is complicated by "social approval and
disapproval." Dr. Buckman sees contemporary society as
achievement-oriented with alcohol a commonly accepted
part of the whole society. Taxpayers are angry, he feels,
because they see those who use psychedelic drugs as
threatening their society because users tend to "drop out"
and meditate.

Product Of Culture

Dr. Buckman views the present generation as having
been brought up in a culture "where it is believed that
persons can and should alter feelings with drugs." He
points out that many in this generation are "using the
same argument as their elders." But he labels it
"nonsensical" for generations to argue "whose drug is
better."

"We should think about making life less stressful
without drugs," he argues, adding that society has
"invented a life style not suited to human use. We believe
that there has to be an answer to every problem."

Part of the answer to such a society, Dr. Buckman
believes, may He in a rearrangement of priorities. "People
are the priorities, not necessarily how they perform."
Rather than parents insisting that their children achieve
more than they have, Dr. Buckman advocates taking this
pressure off children, claiming that society eventually
reaches a certain point where it is impossible for children
to excel beyond their parents' achievements.

Danger In 'Over prescribing'

Another danger, he points out, has been the
"over prescribing" of drugs by medical doctors. Dr.
Buckman claims that some doctors often prescribe
medication "indiscriminately," largely because they lack
the time to simply listen to the patient. The situation has
been complicated by the fact that many patients have
come to expect medication and often insist on a
prescription from their doctor.

Despite the heavy propagandistic bombardment
against them, the use of hallucinogenics is increasing more
and more, especially LSD and mescaline. Dr. Buckman
readily concurs with the evidence of growing use of acid
and methedrine and sees a potential danger in the
phenomenon.

For one thing, he is worried about the contaminants
contained in illegally produced hallucinogens, pointing
out that a shipment of LSD from Richmond was
discovered to have toxic level of strychnine in it. He also
fears that if marijuana and hallucinogens become difficult
to obtain then many persons may be persuaded to take
heroin if it is readily available.

Dr. Buckman admitted that much of the publicity of
the chromosomal damage caused by LSD has "died out."
Results of chromosome damage studies have been both
positive and negative, he said: and though much of the
information is "still garbled," more and more of the
reports are showing negative results.

Hereditary Damage

Studies in mice, rabbits and hamsters have demonstrated
that LSD may damage the offspring of pregnant
females, he said. But he pointed out that many other
drugs have been found to produce the same damage,
including tobacco and aspirin. Many studies in human
beings, he added, have been complicated because the
subjects were taking numerous drugs during pregnancy.

His London research paper says that many "chemical
agents, among them LSD, may be harmful to the unborn
offspring if administered to the pregnant mother in the
first trimester of pregnancy." Dr. Buckman stressed that
he would advise all mothers to avoid taking any type of
unnecessary drugs during pregnancy.

The paper also contends that some critics have
"nothing good to say about LSD...If, however, we are to
believe that upward of a quarter of a million people have
had the drug informally, then we have to admit that the
number of fatal or prolonged reactions has been quite
small."

Could alcohol be said to be safer than marijuana or
LSD? "You can never say if such and such a drug is a safe
one," he answered. "It depends on the underlying