THE DEAD'S FREE RIDE ON DRUG USE

If you've seen the recently released DVD of the Grateful Dead's New
Year's Eve concert at the old Winterland in 1978, you likely have an
incomplete idea of just how big a role drugs played in the group's
appeal to its fans. If you caught the feature on the return of the
Dead that aired on CBS' "Sixty Minutes II" in November, you were also
likely disappointed that the show barely broached the band's wide
influence on the drug culture. Yes, one of the world's greatest news
organizations covered one of the world's most vocal and successful
organizations in promoting drug use. Pretty simple assignment, one
would agree.

But both the DVD and "60 Minutes II" miss the mark about the band
members' drug use. The CBS segment reported on the band's "hippie"
history and approach to improvisation. Charlie Rose got googly-eyed as
he talked to the band. He even did a little dance when the band played
a song as they stood in the Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco where it
all began. Today, the Haight can be a depressing place where kids,
many from broken families, still seek solace in drugs and live on the
street. But here was Rose, dancing as the "surviving" Dead members
played a tune.

We did learn toward the end of the interview from one of the Dead's
members that the band's deceased leader, Jerry Garcia, "loved the drug
(heroin) more than the music." But, that was it. There was no other
mention of drugs in the segment -- and no footage of fans getting
stoned out of their gizzards at Dead concerts. The news organization
missed one of the most important aspects of the story -- either
intentionally or because Rose was too star-struck to notice.

Some things to consider:

- -- Garcia was the third member of the band to die of drug abuse --
spanning heroin, morphine and cocaine.

- -- Garcia and Brent Mydland, a former Dead keyboard player who died of
an overdose in 1990, were known to free-base cocaine and mix cocaine
with heroin in what is known as a "speedball," among other abuses.

- -- Years before Garcia died, he once lapsed into a drug-induced coma
before recovering and going back on tour. Well past the 1960s, he
openly promoted drugs, particularly LSD, in interviews.

- -- The band's concerts continue to be heavily infused with drugs. It's
part of the live-concert experience. It is impossible not to see the
vast amount of drug use that occurs at Dead "gatherings." The band
plays an instrumental song called "Space" at every concert. Space is
spacey indeed. It was created for people who are high on drugs and
stems from the early days of LSD use.

- -- Some of the band's songs contain lyrics and references to drugs.
There are drug symbols as well. For instance, "the Dancing Bears"
often seen on Dead bumper stickers are also printed on LSD tablets.

- -- Some fans (collectively called "Dead Heads") go so far they are
called "freaks" and are known to follow the band from town to town,
spending most of their time getting high and listening to the Dead.
Other Dead Heads often make light of them. But, the freaks are
actually a rather tragic group of drug abusers, often kids and some
adults with mental and social problems.

How do I know this? Because I was a Dead fan when I was a kid and went
to numerous Dead shows -- like thousands of other people. If you ask
almost anyone under the age of 55 who grew up in this country what
their perceptions are of the Dead, they will likely mention drugs. So
why steer clear of the band's drug influence and the pervasiveness of
drugs at their concerts?

Maybe Al and Tipper Gore know. They broadcast during the Clinton/Gore
presidential campaigns that they were Dead fans who went to Dead
shows. Maybe you can ask the Library of Congress, where longtime Dead
drummer Mickey Hart sits on the Board of Trustees for the American
Folklife Center. Maybe you can ask Charlie Rose. Why is all this so
important?

Because kids continue to die from drug abuse and we often sidestep the
true influencing factors in our society. Our government finances TV
commercial campaigns that are supposed to direct our children away
from drugs. These efforts are commendable, but in order to make a
difference, we have to look at today's music scene and put a spotlight
on the drug-oriented bands.

For instance, as "60 Minutes II" noted, the Dead have spawned a whole
new crop of "jam bands" that play similar music. But what the show
didn't say is that these bands also attract drug users and condone
drug use at concerts. The most well-known is probably Phish. At Phish
concerts, literally thousands of kids get high. Yet, the media rarely
cover this phenomenon. The critics won't mention it, either. Forget
law enforcement. These concerts represent "controlled anarchy" where
kids are allowed to get high, which further enforces the drug lifestyle.

One thing is clear: If a religious or cultural organization that
attracted thousands of believers condoned drug use and had followers
who got stoned out of their minds at gatherings, you can bet "60
Minutes II" and a host of other news organizations would be on the
story. But the Dead always seem to get a pass.

Chris Plunkett is managing director of Brainerd Communicators, Inc., a
public relations firm in New York. A husband and father of two, he
often writes about the influence of pop culture on drugs and youth.