LEARY V. US (1969): Turn On, Tune In, and Drop Everything You Thought You Knew About Timothy Leary

Opening Arguments

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Atheist, Opinion, Harvard, News, Politics, Legal, Law, Liberal, Supremecourt

4.3 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2025

⏱️ 77 minutes

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Summary

OA1179 - Dr. Timothy Leary is best remembered today as the Harvard psychologist who told America to “turn on, tune in, and drop out” with psychedelics in the 1960s. But did you know that “the High Priest of LSD” was also one of the most famous people ever to bring a criminal case to the U.S.. Supreme Court? Jenessa shares her scientific perspective on Leary’s “research,” and Matt explains how a minor California marijuana possession charge led to Leary’s unbelievable life on the run as an international fugitive across four continents and his eventual association with not just one but three of the era’s most notorious radical groups. We then review Dr. Leary’s conviction under the Marihuana [sic] Tax Act of 1937 and how Leary v. U.S. changed everything about drug enforcement. (Also discussed: the unexpected origin of the Beatles song “Come Together,” the benefits of podcasting on acid, and what psychedelic research and regulation might have looked like in an alternate Leary-free timeline.)

Leary v. US, 395 U.S. 6 (1969)
Letter from the American Medical Association opposing passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 (7/10/1937)
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Timothy Leary, Richard Nixon and the Hunt for the Fugitive King of LSD, Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis (2018)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to opening arguments.
0:25.2	This is episode 1179.
0:26.9	I'm your not host, Thomas Smith.
0:30.0	That's right.
0:30.6	The show's been stolen again.
0:32.4	If I had a nickel, I'd have two nickels, but it's weird that happened twice.
0:36.1	No, so here's what's going on.
0:37.6	Today, the show will be Matt co-hosted by the amazing Dr. Janessa Seymour. You should know her from,
0:44.7	well, this show. And also, Serious Inquiries Only, she's fantastic. She's got a bachelor's in
0:49.9	psychology, a PhD in neuroscience. She teaches psychology classes at the college level, and now she
0:56.8	works in disability rights in New York, as she also has passed the bar and become a real-life
1:02.3	lawyer. Janice is the best. She has a wealth of expertise and brings a whole different, unique,
1:07.6	and exciting set of tools to the show. What am I doing? Well, it's nothing.
1:12.0	Just, uh, just chilling, really.
1:14.4	No, what's going on is I've been really badly needing, uh, mental health break
1:21.0	during which to get other work done.
1:23.5	It's been 15 months since I won the show back.
1:27.8	15 months.
1:29.1	To me, it has gone by like 15 minutes.
1:31.6	And I hate that this part of my life, the best part of my life with my three little kids, is going by so quickly.
1:40.8	And I know that's always going to happen, but it's been especially bad for probably
1:44.7	two and a half years now, I guess. And what happened was, mentioned it here and there, but that legal
	...

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