List of notable people who have taken psychedelic drugs

Notable people who have taken psychedelic drugs are notable individuals who have publicly reported on their personal experiences with psychedelic drugs like LSD, "magic mushrooms" and mescaline. Some of these comments date from the era when LSD was legally used in psychotherapy and experiments. Still others describe experiences with illegal LSD, obtained for philosophic, artistic, therapeutic, spiritual, or recreational purposes. This list consists of the names of individuals mentioned in the media, together with the instance in which their experience was discussed.

Actors & Comedians

 * Dave Attell, comedian, in his standup routine "Skanks For The Memories".
 * Bill Bailey, comedian, in his standup show, Part Troll.
 * Lewis Black, comedian, has said in his comedic routines, that "just in case it's not obvious to you people, I've done some LSD in my life. And I did it because I thought at the time that it allowed me to think every thought that was possible."
 * Jim Breuer, comedian, in his stage act, talks about trying mescaline once as a teenager, in a bit called "The Wizard".
 * Dave Chappelle, comedian, sometimes discusses his experiences with mushrooms in his stand-up routines.
 * David Carradine discusses his uses of LSD in his autobiography Endless Highway along with descriptions of his use of peyote and psychedelic mushrooms, as well as discussing his use of non-hallucinogenic drugs such as cannabis and cocaine.
 * Cary Grant, in the September, 1959 Look Magazine, relates how LSD treatment has brought him inner peace. He used LSD more than sixty times under therapeutic auspices.
 * Larry Hagman, in his autobiography, Hello Darlin'
 * Anne Heche, in her book Call Me Crazy
 * Mitch Hedberg, comedian, in his comedy act, states that "My favorite drug is acid because it expanded my mind. Because of acid, I now know that butter is better than margarine. I saw through the bullshit."
 * Bill Hicks, comedian, in his comedy albums Dangerous and Relentless, among others
 * Margot Kidder, actress in the documentary Easy Riders, Raging Bulls
 * William H. Macy, in the July 2001 issue of Maxim
 * Groucho Marx, comedian, recounted in an article with Paul Krassner "I Dropped Acid with Groucho"
 * Ralphie May, comedian, in his standup routine.
 * Joe Rogan, speaks about his experience with DMT on a radio talk show.
 * Doug Stanhope, comedian, in his standup routine.
 * Steven Wright, comedian, in his standup routine.

Artists

 * R. Crumb, American Underground Cartoonist. In the movie Crumb, he cites his use of LSD as being the catalyst for transforming his work into something more than the sum of his influences. This was when his career really took off, with Zap #1, accompanied by a strange stylistic change, which Crumb attributes to the drug.
 * Alex Grey, in an interview with the Online Noetic Network and in numerous other interviews and personal writings
 * Leo Kenney
 * Henri Michaux, poet, writer and painter

Authors

 * John Perry Barlow, American poet in Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures by Charles Hayes, Penguin Group USA, 2000 ISBN-10: 0140195742.ISBN-13: 9780140195743
 * Susan Blackmore, British writer
 * Stewart Brand, in John Markoff's book, What the Dormouse Said. The idea of promoting the image of the whole earth from space came during an LSD trip.
 * William Burroughs, article in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
 * Neal Cassady part of original "beat" movement, writer and driver of the merry pranksters bus.
 * Carlos Castaneda, author of The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge
 * Franz Corvus, in the book Generation of Zombies
 * Adelle Davis
 * Philip K. Dick, in the book Valis
 * Jack Defessus, in the book Generation of Zombies
 * Bruce Eisner, Journalist in Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures by Charles Hayes, Penguin Group USA, 2000 ISBN-10: 0140195742.ISBN-13: 9780140195743
 * Allen Ginsberg
 * Sam Harris, an American author with an interest in neuroscience, reason, and religion.
 * Aldous Huxley, author of The Doors of Perception
 * Ernst Jünger, modern German author
 * Ken Kesey, author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
 * Terence McKenna, writer, philosopher, ethnobotanist, and frequent lecturer on psychedlics; author of The Archaic Revival and Food of the Gods
 * Grant Morrison, author of the comic book series The Invisibles.
 * Anais Nin, in The Diary Of Anais Nin, Volume 5 (1947-1955)
 * Robert M. Pirsig in his book Lila: An Inquiry into Morals
 * Tom Robbins, throughout his writing, interviewed in 6/02 
 * Dr. Huston Smith, interviewed in Nov/Dec 1997, MotherJones
 * Robert Stone, affiliated with Ken Kesey, author of "Dog Soldiers" and "A Flag for Sunrise"
 * Anne Waldman American poet in Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures by Charles Hayes, Penguin Group USA, 2000 ISBN-10: 0140195742.ISBN-13: 9780140195743
 * Andrew Sullivan conservative journalist and political commentator, in an online debate found here
 * Hunter S. Thompson, throughout his writings, most notably in his novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
 * Mark Vonnegut, in The Eden Express, Bantam Books, 1975 ISBN 0-553-02755-7
 * Alan Watts, a philosopher, writer, speaker, and expert in comparative religion. The Joyous Cosmology - Adventures in the Chemistry of Consciousness (1962)
 * Robert Anton Wilson, in his autobiographical Cosmic Trigger series.
 * Dr. Andrew Weil, American author and physician in “Hallucinogens, a reader” Charles S. Grob, ed., 2002. Penguin Putnam Inc, USA: ISBN 1-58542-166-9

Businessmen

 * Sir Richard Branson,Virgin Group in his Autobiography Losing My Virginity
 * Bill Gates, interview in the December 1994 Playboy:
 * Steve Jobs of Apple Inc describes taking LSD as "one of the two or three most important things he has done in his life" in John Markoff's 2005 book, What the Dormouse Said; also in an interview in Time Magazine
 * Henry Luce Founder of Time/Life
 * R. Gordon Wasson Banker who introduced Mexican psychedelic mushrooms into the modern world.

Environmentalists

 * John Robbins, Founder of EarthSave, interviewed in Mavericks of the Mind

Musicians

 * Trey Anastasio of Phish describes several instances in "The Phish Book."
 * Syd Barrett founding member of the rock band Pink Floyd.
 * Denny Doherty of the Mamas and the Papas (John Phillips' autobiography, Papa John)
 * Micky Dolenz, singer/drummer for the Monkees, in his autobiography I'm A Believer
 * Cass Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas (John Phillips' autobiography, Papa John)
 * Jerry Garcia, lead guitarist for the Grateful Dead, in the foreword "On the Wheel with Neal" to On The Bus, pp. xvii-xviii
 * George Harrison, in his book I, Me, Mine and in the television/home video production The Beatles Anthology
 * Jimi Hendrix, excerpt from Room Full of Mirrors in Jimi's First Experience
 * Robert Hunter "6th" member of the Grateful Dead said to have accidentally ingested 250,000 micrograms of LSD (800-1000 doses) in 1969. He was quoted as saying "I died a thousand deaths."
 * Anthony Kiedis from the band Red Hot Chili Peppers in his autobiography ''Scar Tissue
 * Lemmy, quoted in a June 2005 article on contactmusic.com (UK)
 * Phil Lesh, bassist for the Grateful Dead, in his autobiography Searching For The Sound.
 * John Lennon, in interviews collected in The Beatles Anthology
 * Katharine McPhee, in Vogue magazine she described an Ayahuasca retreat in Peru as the most important event in her life.
 * Shane MacGowan, singer for The Pogues, interviewed in "A Drink With Shane MacGowan"
 * Ray Manzarek, keyboardist for The Doors, in his book "Light my Fire: My life with The Doors"
 * Willie Nelson, musician, recently arrested for possession of Marijuana and Psilocybin mushrooms
 * Matisyahu, Hasidic Jewish reggae singer, in the 11 May 2006 The Guardian
 * Dave Matthews, in the VH1 Storytellers documentary
 * Marilyn Manson, in "The Long Hard Road Out of Hell"
 * Paul McCartney, in interviews collected within The Beatles Anthology
 * Jim Morrison, much of the Doors work was inspired by his experiences with hallucinogens.
 * Jason Mraz, interviewed in High Times December 2005
 * Mike Oldfield, interviewed in The Daily Mail, August 31, 1998
 * John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas (John Phillips' autobiography, Papa John)
 * Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas (John Phillips' autobiography, Papa John)
 * Keith Richards, interviewed in Rolling Stone, October 17, 2002
 * Carlos Santana, reported by Blender and also in an interview
 * Grace Slick, singer for Jefferson Airplane, in her autobiography Somebody To Love?
 * Ringo Starr, in interviews collected within The Beatles Anthology
 * Joe Strummer front-man for punk rock band The Clash, and The Mescaleros
 * Hank Williams III, in the song "Crazed Country Rebel", interviewed in Creative Loafing
 * Brian Wilson, in many interviews, and masters for the SMiLE sessions
 * Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, from The Mars Volta who make use of psychoactive drugs like LSD for their works.

Sportspeople

 * Dock Ellis, in Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball (co-written with Donald Hall), describes pitching a no-hitter while on LSD
 * Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in his 1984 autobiography Giant Steps
 * Phil Jackson, in his 1975 book on coaching, Maverick

Philosophers

 * Michel Foucault has used LSD at Zabriskie Point in 1975
 * Alex Hixon, in his interview with Playboy
 * Walter Benjamin, in his posthumously published work, "On Hashish."

Scientists

 * Dr. Richard Alpert (now Ram Dass), in his book, Be Here Now
 * Duncan B. Blewett, Canadian psychologist and psychedelic researcher.
 * Francis Crick, co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, alleged to have used small doses of LSD in the early 1950s
 * Dr. Douglas Engelbart, in John Markoff's 2005 book, What the Dormouse Said
 * Richard Feynman, notable physicist claimed (in James Gleick's biography Genius) to have experimented with LSD during professorship at Caltech
 * Dr. Stanislav Grof, Czech researcher
 * Dr. Abram Hoffer, physician and psychedelic researcher
 * Albert Hofmann, the first person to "trip" on LSD after discovering it in 1943, in LSD: My Problem Child
 * Michael Hollingshead. Introduced Tim Leary to LSD
 * Dr. Stephen LaBerge, psychophysiologist and a leader in the scientific study of lucid dreaming, in Susan Blackmore's 2006 book, Conversations on Consciousness
 * Dr. Timothy Leary in many writings, such as The Psychedelic Experience
 * Dr. John C. Lilly in his book Centre of the Cyclone and other works
 * Dr. Ralph Metzner
 * Dr. Kary Mullis, Nobel-Prize winner and inventor of PCR, in his essay collection Dancing Naked in the Mind Field
 * Dr. Humphry Osmond
 * Dr. Alexander Shulgin

Others

 * Ethel Kennedy, Wife of Robert F. Kennedy, underwent LSD therapy for alcoholism.
 * Christopher Mayhew, Labour MP and BBC television personality, who took Mescaline Hydrochloride in 1955 for an unbroadcast episode of Panorama
 * Mark McCloud, the "Father of LSD blotter acid art collecting"
 * Owsley Stanley Famous LSD chemist of the 1960's
 * Jan Svankmajer, influential Czech stop-motion animator volunteered to a 1972 military experiment with LSD in Prague. His experience left him out of favour with the drug.
 * William Griffith Wilson, Co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, in the Alcoholics Anonymous book, Pass It On,
 * Rolando Graña, argentine journalist who took ayahuasca in a TV show for argentine television (2005)
 * Drew Hall, currently living in Illinois, took acid and wrote about it in his autobiography: The Drew Hall Experience.