9. The Brotherhood of Eternal Love
Again, not so much an individual person as they are a group, the Brotherhood of Eternal Love was an organization of drug users and distributors. The group, founded by John Griggs as a commune in the mid-1960s, lasted through to the 1970s and resided primarily in Orange County, California. They became self-sufficient and grew their own crops, built their own hopes, and wove their own clothes. In doing so, they created their own version of society. They also became known as the Hippie Mafia because they hoped to kick-start a psychedelic revolution in the United States.
Religion was a central part of the Brotherhood. They believed LSD offered a window into God and would act as a key to unlock the “Doors of Perception” (a reference to the aforementioned Aldous Huxley’s book). The group began to distribute LSD named Orange Sunshine, a brand they invented themselves. Several members travelled directly to Kabul and Kandahar via Karachi, Istanbul, Frankfurt, and London to gain hash to help fund the distribution of LSD. It was a huge global operation with drugs stashed in a variety of locations such as inside hollowed-out surfboards. Note, you can read more about these specific adventures in a book by Nicholas Schou named Orange Sunshine: The Brotherhood of Eternal Love and Its Quest to Spread Peace, Love, and Acid to the World.
In 1970, the Brotherhood hired the militant radical left-wing organization Weather Underground. The Weather Underground (more commonly known as the Weatherman), wanted to create a revolutionary party that could overthrow the United States. The Brotherhood, however, hired them for twenty-five-thousand dollars to help Timothy Leary who was serving a five-year sentence for marijuana possession. After Leary climbed over the prison wall, the weatherman smuggled him out of the prison in the United States and assisted him in fleeing to Algeria.
Sadly, their fun came to an end in August 1972. Police conducted a drug raid and arrested dozens of members in Maui, Oregon, and California. In 1994 and 1996, police arrested even more members of the group. As late as 2009, police were STILL arresting members! The last was Brenice Lee Smith. He pled guilty to a single charge of smuggling hashish from Afghanistan to Orange County. In return, the District Attorney’s office in Orange County dropped all other charges against him. He spent two months behind bars then returned to his daughter and wife in Nepal where he lived for thirty-years prior.