Drug Emergencies in Crowds: An Analysis of “Rock Medicine”, 1973–1977

Abstract

The rock concert is the environment for one of the most popular and spectacular “rituals of controlled drug use.” For some persons, however, such public drug use elicits “bad trips”. This paper outlines the nature of adverse reactions recorded by the Rock Medicine Section of the Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic at San Francisco area rock concerts between 1973 and 1977. A careful analysis of these reactions reflects the drug-taking patterns of the larger youth culture. The analysis also delineates the peculiar nature of “crowd dysphoria” in the rock concert environment. The paper identifies a trend away from LSD and toward “downers” after 1973, which foreshadowed the dominance of alcohol among the 1977 adverse-reaction victims.