Arthur Kleps: Difference between revisions
m Adding category Category:Syracuse University alumni (using HotCat) |
Billcarton (talk | contribs) →Involvement in the psychedelic movement: added divorce information |
||
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
== Involvement in the psychedelic movement == |
== Involvement in the psychedelic movement == |
||
In 1960, Kleps ordered 500mg of a hallucinogen, mescaline sulfate, in the mail and ingested it. He experienced a psychedelic trip that influenced him to make severe changes in his life and outlook. Kleps ceased employment with Lynchburg Training School,<ref>Stafford and Bigwood. Psychadelics Encyclopedia 3rd ed. p. 116.</ref> and joined Timthy Leary at Millbrook in 1967.<ref>Erowid. Art Kleps. http://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/kleps_arthur/kleps_arthur.shtml. Accessed October 11, 2010.</ref> He founded the Neo-American Church and sought protection for the right to use marijuana and hallucinogens as religious [[sacraments]]. He testified before the US Senate's Judiciary Committee in May 1966, defending citizens' rights to use these drugs to explore consciousness.<ref>Washington Post. May 26, 1966. p. A3.</ref> Eventually a test case in 1968 signaled the judiciary's unwillingness to extend the same rights to drug use to the Neo-American Church as is permitted to Native American tribes who use peyote for similar purposes.<ref>Omer C. Stewart. Peyote Religion: a history. pp. 325-6.</ref> Kleps continued affiliation with the church. He later authored two books: The Boo Hoo Bible: The Neo-American Church Catechism and Handbook (1971) and Millbrook: A Narrative of the Early Years of American Psychedelianism (1975) |
In 1960, Kleps ordered 500mg of a hallucinogen, mescaline sulfate, in the mail and ingested it. He experienced a psychedelic trip that influenced him to make severe changes in his life and outlook. Kleps ceased employment with Lynchburg Training School,<ref>Stafford and Bigwood. Psychadelics Encyclopedia 3rd ed. p. 116.</ref>, reportedly being fired in 1964 for writing a pro-marijuana paper.<ref>http://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/kleps_arthur/kleps_arthur.shtml</ref> He divorced his wife in December 1966 <ref>Florida Divorce Index, 1966, p. 248. From Ancestry.com</ref> and joined Timthy Leary at Millbrook in 1967.<ref>Erowid. Art Kleps. http://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/kleps_arthur/kleps_arthur.shtml. Accessed October 11, 2010.</ref> He founded the Neo-American Church and sought protection for the right to use marijuana and hallucinogens as religious [[sacraments]]. He testified before the US Senate's Judiciary Committee in May 1966, defending citizens' rights to use these drugs to explore consciousness.<ref>Washington Post. May 26, 1966. p. A3.</ref> Eventually a test case in 1968 signaled the judiciary's unwillingness to extend the same rights to drug use to the Neo-American Church as is permitted to Native American tribes who use peyote for similar purposes.<ref>Omer C. Stewart. Peyote Religion: a history. pp. 325-6.</ref> Kleps continued affiliation with the church. He later authored two books: The Boo Hoo Bible: The Neo-American Church Catechism and Handbook (1971) and Millbrook: A Narrative of the Early Years of American Psychedelianism (1975) |
||
== Later Life == |
== Later Life == |
||
Revision as of 20:06, 11 October 2010
Arthur Kleps (1928-1999) was a psychologist turned drug legalization advocate whose Neo-American Church defended use of marijuana and hallucinogens such as LSD and peyote for spiritual enlightenment and exploration.
Early Life
Kleps was born in 1928[1] to Lutheran minister Arthur R. Kleps. He was married in 1959 to Sally Jane Pease, a fellow student at Syracuse University. Arthur earned a BS and Masters in Psychology from Syracuse and by 1959, was working as a psychologist at the Lynchburg Training School in Virginia.[2] The institution is notable for its role as a state mental hospital that was challenged for its role in the forced sterilization of patients in Buck v. Bell(1927) and Poe v. Lynchburg Training School and Hospital (1981).[3]
Involvement in the psychedelic movement
In 1960, Kleps ordered 500mg of a hallucinogen, mescaline sulfate, in the mail and ingested it. He experienced a psychedelic trip that influenced him to make severe changes in his life and outlook. Kleps ceased employment with Lynchburg Training School,[4], reportedly being fired in 1964 for writing a pro-marijuana paper.[5] He divorced his wife in December 1966 [6] and joined Timthy Leary at Millbrook in 1967.[7] He founded the Neo-American Church and sought protection for the right to use marijuana and hallucinogens as religious sacraments. He testified before the US Senate's Judiciary Committee in May 1966, defending citizens' rights to use these drugs to explore consciousness.[8] Eventually a test case in 1968 signaled the judiciary's unwillingness to extend the same rights to drug use to the Neo-American Church as is permitted to Native American tribes who use peyote for similar purposes.[9] Kleps continued affiliation with the church. He later authored two books: The Boo Hoo Bible: The Neo-American Church Catechism and Handbook (1971) and Millbrook: A Narrative of the Early Years of American Psychedelianism (1975)
Later Life
Kleps spent time in Europe, notably Amsterdam, where he accused American Express and the DEA of intercepting his mail containing travelers checks.[10] He died July 17, 1999.[11]
Sources
- ^ http://okneoac.com/dts.html
- ^ New York Times. February 28 1959. p. 11.
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe_v._Lynchburg_Training_School_and_Hospital
- ^ Stafford and Bigwood. Psychadelics Encyclopedia 3rd ed. p. 116.
- ^ http://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/kleps_arthur/kleps_arthur.shtml
- ^ Florida Divorce Index, 1966, p. 248. From Ancestry.com
- ^ Erowid. Art Kleps. http://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/kleps_arthur/kleps_arthur.shtml. Accessed October 11, 2010.
- ^ Washington Post. May 26, 1966. p. A3.
- ^ Omer C. Stewart. Peyote Religion: a history. pp. 325-6.
- ^ http://okneoac.com/dea.html. Accessed October 11, 2010.
- ^ http://okneoac.com/dts.html