Arthur Kleps: Difference between revisions
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== Early Life == |
== Early Life == |
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Kleps was born in New York<ref>Year: 1930; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Roll 1566; Page: 27A; Enumeration District: 542; Image: 627.0., April 17, 1928<ref>Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.</ref> |
Kleps was born in New York<ref>Year: 1930; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Roll 1566; Page: 27A; Enumeration District: 542; Image: 627.0.,</ref> April 17, 1928<ref>Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.</ref> |
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Original data: Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration. SSN=125-20-7423</ref> to Lutheran minister Arthur R. Kleps and his wife Irene. 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.<ref>New York Times. February 28 1959. p. 11.</ref> 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).<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe_v._Lynchburg_Training_School_and_Hospital</ref> |
Original data: Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration. SSN=125-20-7423</ref> to Lutheran minister Arthur R. Kleps and his wife Irene. 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.<ref>New York Times. February 28 1959. p. 11.</ref> 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).<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe_v._Lynchburg_Training_School_and_Hospital</ref> |
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Revision as of 20:25, 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 New York[1] April 17, 1928[2] Original data: Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration. SSN=125-20-7423</ref> to Lutheran minister Arthur R. Kleps and his wife Irene. 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.[3] 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).[4]
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,[5], reportedly being fired in 1964 for writing a pro-marijuana paper.[6] He divorced his wife in December 1966 [7] and joined Timthy Leary at Millbrook in 1967.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] He died July 17, 1999.[12] His last official residence was Sacramento, California.[13]
Sources
- ^ Year: 1930; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Roll 1566; Page: 27A; Enumeration District: 542; Image: 627.0.,
- ^ Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.
- ^ 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
- ^ Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Original data: Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration.