Turn On and Tune In

Thursday 4 March 2010, 18.00 for 18.30-20.30
The Library, The Chemistry Centre, Burlington House

This lecture was unavoidably cancelled, and will be rescheduled for a future date. 

Join writer and scientist John Mann for a trip into the weird world of drug use and abuse. 

Timothy Leary's exhortation to turn on, tune in, drop out is generally associated with the view that if you can remember the 60s you weren't actually there. But this view ignores the very interesting historical, sociological, not to mention the political and literary implications of psychoactive drug use in the 60s and in other time periods. 

 This illustrated talk will cover a range of psychoactive drugs including LSD, opiates, belladonna, peyote, absinthe and cannabis with an emphasis on the colourful characters who discovered or used or abused these substances. The clinically useful drugs that have emerged from studies of these substances will also be mentioned. 

John Mann recently retired from Queen's University Belfast having spent most of his academic career working with biologically interesting natural products. His most recent book is Turn On and Tune In: Psychedelics, Narcotics and Euphoriants upon which this talk is based.