Stephen Abrams
Encyclopedia
Stephen Irwin Abrams is an American scholar of parapsychology
and a drug policy activist. He is best known for sponsoring and authoring the full page advertisement petitioning for cannabis
law reform that appeared in The Times
on 24 July 1967. Abrams is a long-time resident of the United Kingdom.
at Oxford University from 1960 to 1967. He headed a parapsychological laboratory in the University's Department of Biometry, investigating extrasensory perception.
In January 1967 content of an article by Abrams "The Oxford Scene and the Law", contributed to a forthcoming book The Book of Grass was republished, without his permission, in the Sunday newspaper The People
. The article was a balanced reasoning on the social and personal effects of cannabis use and its repression. The article observed that under current laws cannabis users were punished more severely than heroin users. Cannabis smoking was regarded as a crime but heroin addiction was treated as an illness. Doctors had the right to prescribe heroin. The Court might send a cannabis smoker to prison and send a heroin user to a doctor. Presented in the sensationalist manner for which the paper was known, the story emphasized Abrams claim that 500 of Oxford's student body were cannabis users. The story spread. Headlines like "Smoke more pot. It's safer than beer,", "Make it legal to take marihuana urges Oxford student" appeared in the popular press. On February 1, the same day as long clarifying letter from him was printed in the Daily Telegraph, Abrams announced, via the pages of student newspaper Cherwell
, the formation of SOMA, an acronym for the Society of Mental Awareness, as a drug research project. Two weeks later, on February 15, 1967, Abrams went on to give evidence before the University Committee on Student Health, which agreed to pursue his suggestion that the Home Secretary
be prevailed upon to institute an inquiry. After the committee's published report received national press coverage, on the April 7th 1967 home secretary Roy Jenkins
appointed a "sub-committee on hallucinogens" to be chaired by Baroness Wootton
to report to the Advisory Council on Drug Dependence, itself appointed four months earlier in December 1966.
and Mick Jagger
on drug charges. In the midst of Abrams campaign in Oxford, on March 1, 1967 activist Hoppy
had organized a happening
in Oxford that had turned into an impromptu "pot protest". Swelled by rowdy participants from Oxford Polytechnic's
rag week
, the event gained national coverage. Hoppy himself, a member of the editorial board of the underground newspaper International Times
, had been arrested for cannabis possession the previous December, after police raided his London flat. Although the amount was small, he had a previous conviction, so this was a serious matter. Out on bail, Hoppy went on to organize the massive 14 Hour Technicolour Dream multimedia event at Alexandra Palace
on April 29. In his drug case - despite having no defense - he insisted on pleading 'Not Guilty', elected for trial by jury, and lectured the court on the iniquity of the law. Needless to say he was found guilty. On June 1, 1967 he was sentenced to 9 months in prison by a judge who called him a "pest to society". He rapidly became a cause célèbre
and a 'Free Hoppy' movement was born.
On June 2, at a gathering of Hoppy supporters Abrams launched the idea of a SOMA advertisement in The Times petitioning for reform. The idea being that this could serve the double purpose of raising awareness of Hoppy's case and influencing the Wootton Committee. Barry Miles
introduced Abrams to Paul McCartney
who was persuaded to anonymously donate the ₤1800 cost. McCartney had recently blurted to the press about his LSD use. Controversy raged over lyrics suggestive of drug use on the Sgt. Pepper's
album, itself released on June 1. After word got out of his backing of the advertisement his support wavered. Abrams was able to convince McCartney that associating The Beatles with the cannabis cause could serve to direct all the attention in a positive direction. The space was booked for The Times of Monday July 24, 1967, and Abrams set about recruiting signatories.
He was helped by circumstances. On June 29, 1967, the sentencing of Richards and Jagger to lengthy jail sentences precipitated spontaneous protests on Fleet Street
outside the offices of the News of the World
, widely seen as having instigated the police action after Jagger had threatened them with a libel action over drug allegations earlier in the year. The protests met with violent police responses including the use of dogs. Jagger and Richards were freed on bail the next day Friday 30 June. At midnight that day the entire crowd at underground club UFO
and many others, including Abrams, again marched to the News of the World to demonstrate. After a third night of protests, again met with police violence, Abrams was among those whose picture appeared on the News of the World's front page on July 2.
The next big event was a "Legalize Pot Rally" at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park
on Sunday the 16th of July. A permit having been refused for a larger event, the protesters led by Abrams - and including speakers Allen Ginsburg, Caroline Coon
, Stokely Carmichael
, Alexis Korner
, Spike Hawkins
, Clive Goodwin and Adrian Mitchell
- split into small groups in this famous haven of free speech. Again wide publicity was gained, International Times commented "Vast publicity for legalize pot rally. Steve Abrams appears on television with amazing regularity"
The Times advertising department were still apprehensive. Abrams speculates that, if it were not for the furor over the Rolling Stones case - which included the famous William Rees-Mogg
editorial Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?
on July 1 - they would have balked. As it was, at the last moment they demanded payment in advance. Abrams called The Beatles office Apple
and assistant Pete Brown
came up with a personal cheque
to save the day.
A week after the advertisement appeared, on 31 July 1967, Keith Richards' cannabis conviction was quashed, and Mick Jagger's prison sentence (for possession of amphetamine
tablets) reduced to a conditional discharge
.
The advertisement went on to present medical sources asserting the harmlessness of cannabis, and recommended a five point plan:
The sixty-five signatories comprised leading names in British society, including Nobel Laureate Francis Crick
, novelist Graham Greene
, Members of Parliament Tom Driberg and Brian Walden
, photographer David Bailey, directors Peter Brook
and Jonathan Miller
, broadcaster David Dimbleby
, psychiatrists R. D. Laing, David Cooper
, and David Stafford-Clark
, the critic Kenneth Tynan
, scientist Francis Huxley, activist Tariq Ali
, and The Beatles
, along with their manager Brian Epstein
.
The advertisement was controversial, receiving both public support and establishment condemnation. It was discussed in Parliament. At the 1967 Tory party conference, the Shadow Home Secretary, Quintin Hogg
said he was "profoundly shocked by the irresponsibility of those who wanted to change the law", describing their arguments as "casuistic, confused, sophistical and immature."
The Wootton Committee's Report
, when submitted in November 1968, specifically cited the advertisement's influence on its proceedings, noting that the advertisement's claim that "the long-asserted dangers of cannabis are exaggerated and that the related law is socially damaging, if not unworkable', had caused the committee to "give greater attention to the legal aspects of the problem" and "give first priority to presenting our views on cannabis." The Report vindicated much of the advertisement's position, stating "the long-term consumption of cannabis in moderate doses has no harmful effects.", that cannabis was "no more dangerous than alcohol" and that prison only be recommended for cases of "organised large-scale trafficking" and all other offenders be given, at the worst, suspended sentences. The Home Secretary of the day, James Callaghan
denounced the Report, claiming its authors had been "overinfluenced" by the "lobby" responsible for "that notorious advertisement." However he later quietly reversed his position, and many of the Report's recommendations became law in 1971 - ironically enacted by Hogg who, after a change of government, had taken over as Home Secretary.
of Harvard, Dr. Anthony Storr
, Dr. R. D. Laing, and Dr. David Cooper. Other directors were The Revd. Kenneth Leech
, of the Church of England; and anthropologist Francis Huxley.
SOMA had five employees, and premises in Fulham
and Camden
. SOMA had active research and medical programs, the latter in collaboration with the doctors at an affiliated NHS surgery in Notting Hill. Dr. Ian Dunbar was Medical Director of Soma and Dr. Sam Hutt was Medical Correspondent. Research effforts included compiling a bibliography of cannabis, and the first human experiments with the active principle of cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), synthesized in their laboratory. They compared the action of the isomers of THC and tried to distinguish euphoria from intoxication by measuring the apparent tridimensionality
of visual perception, the extent to which the world appeared, as it were, "spaced-out."
These activities attracted the attention of the News of the World
, which printed a sensationalist exposé on the front page of its July 7 1968 issue with the headline "This dangerous man MUST be stopped!" next to a photograph of Abrams laughing. The caption quotes him as saying "My own view, which goes beyond what many members of SOMA want, is for cannabis to eventually replace tobacco."
Parapsychology
The term parapsychology was coined in or around 1889 by philosopher Max Dessoir, and originates from para meaning "alongside", and psychology. The term was adopted by J.B. Rhine in the 1930s as a replacement for the term psychical research...
and a drug policy activist. He is best known for sponsoring and authoring the full page advertisement petitioning for cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
law reform that appeared in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
on 24 July 1967. Abrams is a long-time resident of the United Kingdom.
Oxford and the founding of SOMA
Abrams was an Advanced Student of St. Catherine's CollegeSt Catherine's College, Oxford
St Catherine's College, often called Catz, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its motto is Nova et Vetera...
at Oxford University from 1960 to 1967. He headed a parapsychological laboratory in the University's Department of Biometry, investigating extrasensory perception.
In January 1967 content of an article by Abrams "The Oxford Scene and the Law", contributed to a forthcoming book The Book of Grass was republished, without his permission, in the Sunday newspaper The People
The People
The People, previously known as the Sunday People, is a British tabloid Sunday-only newspaper. The paper was founded on 16 October 1881.It is published by the Trinity Mirror Group.In July 2011 it had an average daily circulation of 806,544....
. The article was a balanced reasoning on the social and personal effects of cannabis use and its repression. The article observed that under current laws cannabis users were punished more severely than heroin users. Cannabis smoking was regarded as a crime but heroin addiction was treated as an illness. Doctors had the right to prescribe heroin. The Court might send a cannabis smoker to prison and send a heroin user to a doctor. Presented in the sensationalist manner for which the paper was known, the story emphasized Abrams claim that 500 of Oxford's student body were cannabis users. The story spread. Headlines like "Smoke more pot. It's safer than beer,", "Make it legal to take marihuana urges Oxford student" appeared in the popular press. On February 1, the same day as long clarifying letter from him was printed in the Daily Telegraph, Abrams announced, via the pages of student newspaper Cherwell
Cherwell (newspaper)
Cherwell is an independent newspaper, largely published for students of Oxford University. First published in 1920, it has had an online edition since 1996. Named after the local river, Cherwell is published by OSPL , who also publish the sister publication ISIS along with the Etcetera Supplement...
, the formation of SOMA, an acronym for the Society of Mental Awareness, as a drug research project. Two weeks later, on February 15, 1967, Abrams went on to give evidence before the University Committee on Student Health, which agreed to pursue his suggestion that the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
be prevailed upon to institute an inquiry. After the committee's published report received national press coverage, on the April 7th 1967 home secretary Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
appointed a "sub-committee on hallucinogens" to be chaired by Baroness Wootton
Barbara Wootton, Baroness Wootton of Abinger
Barbara Wootton, Baroness Wootton of Abinger CH was a British sociologist and criminologist. She was one of the first four life peers appointed under the Life Peerages Act 1958. She was President of the British Sociological Association 1959-1964.Born Barbara Adam in Cambridge, she was educated at...
to report to the Advisory Council on Drug Dependence, itself appointed four months earlier in December 1966.
Protests and organizing the Times Advertisement
Public awareness had been increased by the February arrests of Keith RichardsKeith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
and Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
on drug charges. In the midst of Abrams campaign in Oxford, on March 1, 1967 activist Hoppy
John Hopkins (political activist)
John "Hoppy" Hopkins is a British photographer, journalist, researcher and political activist, and "one of the best-known underground figures of Swinging London" in the late 1960s.-Life:...
had organized a happening
Happening
A happening is a performance, event or situation meant to be considered art, usually as performance art. Happenings take place anywhere , are often multi-disciplinary, with a nonlinear narrative and the active participation of the audience...
in Oxford that had turned into an impromptu "pot protest". Swelled by rowdy participants from Oxford Polytechnic's
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University is a new university in Oxford, England. It was named to honour the school's founding principal, John Brookes. It has been ranked as the best new university by the Sunday Times University Guide 10 years in a row...
rag week
RAG (student society)
University Rag societies are student-run charitable fundraising organisations that are widespread in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Most universities in the UK and Ireland, as well as some in South Africa and the Netherlands have a Rag...
, the event gained national coverage. Hoppy himself, a member of the editorial board of the underground newspaper International Times
International Times
International Times was an underground newspaper founded in London in 1966. Editors included Hoppy, David Mairowitz, Pete Stansill, Barry Miles, Jim Haynes and playwright Tom McGrath...
, had been arrested for cannabis possession the previous December, after police raided his London flat. Although the amount was small, he had a previous conviction, so this was a serious matter. Out on bail, Hoppy went on to organize the massive 14 Hour Technicolour Dream multimedia event at Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
on April 29. In his drug case - despite having no defense - he insisted on pleading 'Not Guilty', elected for trial by jury, and lectured the court on the iniquity of the law. Needless to say he was found guilty. On June 1, 1967 he was sentenced to 9 months in prison by a judge who called him a "pest to society". He rapidly became a cause célèbre
Cause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...
and a 'Free Hoppy' movement was born.
On June 2, at a gathering of Hoppy supporters Abrams launched the idea of a SOMA advertisement in The Times petitioning for reform. The idea being that this could serve the double purpose of raising awareness of Hoppy's case and influencing the Wootton Committee. Barry Miles
Barry Miles
Barry Miles is an English author known for his participation in and writing on the subject of the 1960s London underground. He has written numerous books and his work has also regularly appeared in left-wing papers such as The Guardian...
introduced Abrams to Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
who was persuaded to anonymously donate the ₤1800 cost. McCartney had recently blurted to the press about his LSD use. Controversy raged over lyrics suggestive of drug use on the Sgt. Pepper's
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...
album, itself released on June 1. After word got out of his backing of the advertisement his support wavered. Abrams was able to convince McCartney that associating The Beatles with the cannabis cause could serve to direct all the attention in a positive direction. The space was booked for The Times of Monday July 24, 1967, and Abrams set about recruiting signatories.
He was helped by circumstances. On June 29, 1967, the sentencing of Richards and Jagger to lengthy jail sentences precipitated spontaneous protests on Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
outside the offices of the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
, widely seen as having instigated the police action after Jagger had threatened them with a libel action over drug allegations earlier in the year. The protests met with violent police responses including the use of dogs. Jagger and Richards were freed on bail the next day Friday 30 June. At midnight that day the entire crowd at underground club UFO
UFO Club
The UFO Club was a famous but shortlived UK underground club in London during the 1960s, venue of performances by many of the top bands of the day.-History:...
and many others, including Abrams, again marched to the News of the World to demonstrate. After a third night of protests, again met with police violence, Abrams was among those whose picture appeared on the News of the World's front page on July 2.
The next big event was a "Legalize Pot Rally" at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
on Sunday the 16th of July. A permit having been refused for a larger event, the protesters led by Abrams - and including speakers Allen Ginsburg, Caroline Coon
Caroline Coon
Caroline Coon is an English artist, journalist and political activist. Her artwork, which often explores sexual themes from a feminist standpoint , has been exhibited at many major London galleries, including the Saatchi Gallery and the Tate.Coon was born to a family of Kent landowners and had...
, Stokely Carmichael
Stokely Carmichael
Kwame Ture , also known as Stokely Carmichael, was a Trinidadian-American black activist active in the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. He rose to prominence first as a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and later as the "Honorary Prime Minister" of the Black Panther Party...
, Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner was a blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a Founding Father of British Blues"...
, Spike Hawkins
Spike Hawkins
Spike Hawkins is a British poet, best known for his 'Three Pig Poems', included in his one book, the Fulcrum Press collection The Lost Fire-Brigade . He was part of the poetry scene in Liverpool during the 1960s and much of his output upholds the values of that group; short, modernistic, humorous...
, Clive Goodwin and Adrian Mitchell
Adrian Mitchell
Adrian Mitchell FRSL was an English poet, novelist and playwright. A former journalist, he became a noted figure on the British anti-authoritarian Left. For almost half a century he was the foremost poet of the country's anti-Bomb movement...
- split into small groups in this famous haven of free speech. Again wide publicity was gained, International Times commented "Vast publicity for legalize pot rally. Steve Abrams appears on television with amazing regularity"
The Times advertising department were still apprehensive. Abrams speculates that, if it were not for the furor over the Rolling Stones case - which included the famous William Rees-Mogg
William Rees-Mogg
William Rees-Mogg, Baron Rees-Mogg is an English journalist and life peer.-Education:Rees-Mogg was educated at Clifton College Preparatory School in Bristol and Charterhouse School in Godalming, followed by Balliol College, Oxford...
editorial Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?
Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?
"Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?" is a quotation – sometimes misquoted with "on" in place of "upon" – from Alexander Pope's "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot" of January 1735...
on July 1 - they would have balked. As it was, at the last moment they demanded payment in advance. Abrams called The Beatles office Apple
Apple Corps
Apple Corps Ltd. is a multi-armed multimedia corporation founded in January 1968 by the members of The Beatles to replace their earlier company and to form a conglomerate. Its name is a pun. Its chief division is Apple Records, which was launched in the same year...
and assistant Pete Brown
Peter Brown (music industry)
Peter Brown is an American-based English businessman. He currently resides in New York City.-The Beatles:Brown was a personal assistant to Brian Epstein and The Beatles during the 1960s. He was a confidant to the Epstein family, and bore some resemblance to Brian in his looks and manner...
came up with a personal cheque
Cheque
A cheque is a document/instrument See the negotiable cow—itself a fictional story—for discussions of cheques written on unusual surfaces. that orders a payment of money from a bank account...
to save the day.
A week after the advertisement appeared, on 31 July 1967, Keith Richards' cannabis conviction was quashed, and Mick Jagger's prison sentence (for possession of amphetamine
Amphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...
tablets) reduced to a conditional discharge
Conditional discharge
A discharge is a type of sentence where no punishment is imposed. An absolute discharge is unconditional: the defendant is not punished, and the case is over. In some jurisdictions, an absolute discharge means there is no conviction despite a finding that the defendant is guilty...
.
The Times Advertisement
The advertisement appeared in The Times on July 24, 1967. A full page, it stated:'The law against marijuana is immoral in principle and unworkable in practice.'
The advertisement went on to present medical sources asserting the harmlessness of cannabis, and recommended a five point plan:
- The government should permit and encourage research into all aspects of cannabis use, including its medical applications.
- Allowing the smoking of cannabis on private premises should no longer constitute an offence.
- Cannabis should be taken off the dangerous drugs list and controlled, rather than prohibited, by a new ad hoc instrument.
- Possession of cannabis should either be legally permitted or at most be considered a misdemeanour, punishable by a fine of not more than £10 for a first offence and not more than £25 for any subsequent offence.
- All persons now imprisoned for possession of cannabis or for allowing cannabis to be smoked on private premises should have their sentences commuted.
The sixty-five signatories comprised leading names in British society, including Nobel Laureate Francis Crick
Francis Crick
Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being one of two co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, together with James D. Watson...
, novelist Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
, Members of Parliament Tom Driberg and Brian Walden
Brian Walden
Alastair Brian Walden is a British journalist and broadcaster who was a Labour Member of Parliament for a decade. He is the father of actor Ben Walden....
, photographer David Bailey, directors Peter Brook
Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
and Jonathan Miller
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE is a British theatre and opera director, author, physician, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. Trained as a physician in the late 1950s, he first came to prominence in the 1960s with his role in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe with fellow writers and...
, broadcaster David Dimbleby
David Dimbleby
David Dimbleby is a British BBC TV commentator and a presenter of current affairs and political programmes, most notably the BBC's flagship political show Question Time, and more recently, art, architectural history and history series...
, psychiatrists R. D. Laing, David Cooper
David Cooper (psychiatrist)
David Graham Cooper was a British psychiatrist, theorist and leader in the anti-psychiatry movement....
, and David Stafford-Clark
David Stafford-Clark
David Stafford-Clark was an English psychiatrist and author. He was educated at Felsted and University of London.Stafford-Clark did war service in charge of Waterbeach hospital, Cambridgeshire at the home of RAF Bomber Command. He was mentioned in dispatches twice as a result of taking part in raids...
, the critic Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Peacock Tynan was an influential and often controversial English theatre critic and writer.-Early life:...
, scientist Francis Huxley, activist Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali , , is a British Pakistani military historian, novelist, journalist, filmmaker, public intellectual, political campaigner, activist, and commentator...
, and The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, along with their manager Brian Epstein
Brian Epstein
Brian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle...
.
The advertisement was controversial, receiving both public support and establishment condemnation. It was discussed in Parliament. At the 1967 Tory party conference, the Shadow Home Secretary, Quintin Hogg
Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone
For the businessman and philanthropist, see Quintin Hogg Quintin McGarel Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, KG, CH, PC, QC, FRS , formerly 2nd Viscount Hailsham , was a British politician who was known for the longevity of his career, the vigour with which he campaigned for the Conservative...
said he was "profoundly shocked by the irresponsibility of those who wanted to change the law", describing their arguments as "casuistic, confused, sophistical and immature."
The Wootton Committee's Report
Wootton Report
The Wootton Report on Cannabis was the Report, dated 1968 and published in January 1969. of the Sub-committee on Hallucinogens of the United Kingdom Home Office Advisory Committee on Drug Dependence. The Chair of the Sub-committee was Baroness Wootton of Abinger.The Sub-committee was charged with...
, when submitted in November 1968, specifically cited the advertisement's influence on its proceedings, noting that the advertisement's claim that "the long-asserted dangers of cannabis are exaggerated and that the related law is socially damaging, if not unworkable', had caused the committee to "give greater attention to the legal aspects of the problem" and "give first priority to presenting our views on cannabis." The Report vindicated much of the advertisement's position, stating "the long-term consumption of cannabis in moderate doses has no harmful effects.", that cannabis was "no more dangerous than alcohol" and that prison only be recommended for cases of "organised large-scale trafficking" and all other offenders be given, at the worst, suspended sentences. The Home Secretary of the day, James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
denounced the Report, claiming its authors had been "overinfluenced" by the "lobby" responsible for "that notorious advertisement." However he later quietly reversed his position, and many of the Report's recommendations became law in 1971 - ironically enacted by Hogg who, after a change of government, had taken over as Home Secretary.
Incorporation of SOMA
SOMA was an informal organization when the advertisement appeared. Later, it was incorporated as the Soma Research Association, Ltd. Apart from Abrams, directors included Francis Crick, four psychiatrists: Professor Norman ZinbergNorman Zinberg
Dr. Norman E. Zinberg was a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist whose research into addiction is seen as a great influence on current clinical models and greatly influenced the work of addiction treatment specialists such as Stanton Peele.Zinberg studied recreational heroin users over a ten year...
of Harvard, Dr. Anthony Storr
Anthony Storr
Anthony Storr was an English psychiatrist and author. Born in London, he was a child who was to endure the typical trauma of early 20th century boarding schools. He was educated at Winchester College, Christ's College , and Westminster Hospital. He qualified as a doctor in 1944, and subsequently...
, Dr. R. D. Laing, and Dr. David Cooper. Other directors were The Revd. Kenneth Leech
Kenneth Leech
Kenneth Leech is an Anglican priest and Christian socialist in the Anglo-Catholic tradition.Leech graduated with a BA degree in 1961 from the University of London and then went to Trinity College, Oxford. After theological studies at St Stephen's House, Oxford he was ordained to the priesthood in...
, of the Church of England; and anthropologist Francis Huxley.
SOMA had five employees, and premises in Fulham
Fulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
and Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
. SOMA had active research and medical programs, the latter in collaboration with the doctors at an affiliated NHS surgery in Notting Hill. Dr. Ian Dunbar was Medical Director of Soma and Dr. Sam Hutt was Medical Correspondent. Research effforts included compiling a bibliography of cannabis, and the first human experiments with the active principle of cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol
Tetrahydrocannabinol
Tetrahydrocannabinol , also known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol , Δ1-THC , or dronabinol, is the main chemical psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant. It was first isolated in 1964. In pure form, it is a glassy solid when cold, and becomes viscous and sticky if warmed...
(THC), synthesized in their laboratory. They compared the action of the isomers of THC and tried to distinguish euphoria from intoxication by measuring the apparent tridimensionality
Three-dimensional space
Three-dimensional space is a geometric 3-parameters model of the physical universe in which we live. These three dimensions are commonly called length, width, and depth , although any three directions can be chosen, provided that they do not lie in the same plane.In physics and mathematics, a...
of visual perception, the extent to which the world appeared, as it were, "spaced-out."
These activities attracted the attention of the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
, which printed a sensationalist exposé on the front page of its July 7 1968 issue with the headline "This dangerous man MUST be stopped!" next to a photograph of Abrams laughing. The caption quotes him as saying "My own view, which goes beyond what many members of SOMA want, is for cannabis to eventually replace tobacco."
Publications
- "The Oxford Scene and the Law", The Book of Grass, George Andrews & Simon Vinkenoog, Peter Owen 1967, pp. 235–42
- "Cannabis Law Reform in Britain" in The Marijuana Papers, David Soloman, Penguin Books, 1970, pp. 69–79 (UK edition only).
- "Soma, the Wootton Report and cannabis law reform in Britain during the 1960s and 1970s",in: A cannabis reader: global issues and local experiences, Monograph series 8, Volume 1, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon.pp. 39–49. (2008)
External links
- IT#34 Pages 10-11 - June 26 1968 details of SOMA THC research, Hyde Park Rally press clips, and an Abrams essay.
- Legalize Marijuana Rally in Hype Park Archival Newsreel Video of the Hyde Park Rally
- A home visit from Dr. Abrams photographs from Barry Miles' book Hippie (pages 86–87)
