''The Mind-Benders'' is an educational antidrug
[ documentary film concerning ]hallucinogens
Hallucinogens are a large, diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, mood, and perception as well as other changes. Most hallucinogens can be categorized ...
produced for the United States Food and Drug Administration in 1967. It "explores the potential therapeutic uses and the known hazards of LSD and other hallucinogens, as well as some of the motivations of abusers".[ The color 16 mm film was made available from Bureau of Drug Abuse Control field offices and from the FDA National Medical Audiovisual Center. The government's description states that it contains "graphics that suggest a hallucinogenic experience, snippets of interviews with users (who explain their reasons for taking the drug) and doctors, and taped sessions of research with volunteers, the film delves into the destructive as well as possible positive uses of the drug".
According to some academics, the policies pursued by the government including this and other anti-drug films, "structured social experience f users..in such a way as to generate experiences defined as ]bad trip
A bad trip (also known as challenging experiences, acute intoxication from hallucinogens, psychedelic crisis, or emergence phenomenon) is an acute adverse psychological reaction to classic hallucinogens. With proper screening, preparation, and su ...
s".[
The film was recommended for school curricula by government and non-government authorities, and was used in some U.S. schools.]
See also
*List of drug films
Drug films are films that depict either illicit drug distribution or drug use, whether as a major theme, such as by centering the film around drug subculture or by depicting it in a few memorable scenes. Drug cinema ranges from gritty social real ...
* ''Marijuana'' (1968 film), a 1968 anti-drug documentary from the same time period
References
External links
The Mind - Benders: LSD and the Hallucinogens
at Internet Archive, "by National Archives and Records Administration", archived December 25, 2009 (public domain)
*
1967 films
American social guidance and drug education films
Food and Drug Administration
Documentary films about LSD
1960s English-language films
1960s American films
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