Erowid Character Vaults
Lisa Bieberman
June 27, 1941 - Aug 10, 2022
Summary
While studying at Harvard University, Lisa Bieberman volunteered at Timothy Leary's office, later helping him with daily operations at Millbrook and acting as circulation manager for The Psychedelic Review. After graduating in 1963, Lisa opened the Psychedelic Information Center near Harvard Square, where for a few years she sold photo-offset reprints of various topical publications, along with her own writings. She dreamed that similar information centers would someday be available in every major city, providing advice and factual data for people interested in learning about the potential benefits and possible pitfalls of psychedelics. In 1965, Lisa started publishing the bimonthly Psychedelic Information Center Bulletin; 35 issues were produced in total. In their 1967 book LSD--The Problem-Solving Psychedelic, authors Peter Stafford and Bonnie Golightly describe the PIC Bulletin as "the outstanding example of an LSD newsletter, focused around events associated with the burgeoning 'psychedelic information centers.'" Within her booklet Session Games People Play: A Manual for the Use of LSD, Lisa shared her no-nonsense advice for those considering trying psychedelics.
Although Lisa was initially enthusiastic about the promise that psychedelics had for inspiring positive change in the world, she eventually became discouraged by the growing indiscriminant use by hippies, and the resulting governmental backlash. Her own spiritual search ended up leading her toward the ideas embraced by the early Quakers. She left the psychedelic community in the early 1970s, and married in 1973 (her married name is Licia/Alicia Kuenning). She and her husband Larry started the publishing house Quaker Heritage Press, which focused on releasing new editions of classic Quaker texts. In 1996, Licia declared she had received a revelation directly from Christ that Farmington, Maine would be the "new Jerusalem". As a means to spread the word, in 2005 she self-published Farmington! Farmington!, a "sort of" novel featuring the details of her prophecy as a vehicle for the book's plot. [Read full biography]
Although Lisa was initially enthusiastic about the promise that psychedelics had for inspiring positive change in the world, she eventually became discouraged by the growing indiscriminant use by hippies, and the resulting governmental backlash. Her own spiritual search ended up leading her toward the ideas embraced by the early Quakers. She left the psychedelic community in the early 1970s, and married in 1973 (her married name is Licia/Alicia Kuenning). She and her husband Larry started the publishing house Quaker Heritage Press, which focused on releasing new editions of classic Quaker texts. In 1996, Licia declared she had received a revelation directly from Christ that Farmington, Maine would be the "new Jerusalem". As a means to spread the word, in 2005 she self-published Farmington! Farmington!, a "sort of" novel featuring the details of her prophecy as a vehicle for the book's plot. [Read full biography]
"There is a crying need to put our own house in order, and this can be done only by open, honest, well-planned programs which create an alternative to underground, haphazard use of psychedelics. To organize and set up such programs in today's political climate will be exceedingly difficult, but the sooner we get started the better."
-- Lisa Bieberman, "An LSD User Answers Cohen and Alpert", Inner Space 1(1):11-13 October, 1966
Author of (Articles)
[NOTE: A slightly different version of this article was published in the #12 issue of the PIC Bulletin in June 1967.]
Interviews
Harvard Crimson Mentions
Links