Original subtitles

[ Frida y Nam? ting] This is the ciz‘y— [as Ange/es, California,

h"; a fine place to enjoy/ife.

There are places reserved just for kids when the y’re young and fee/young.

Places the y go when the y’re young and feel old

beginning the big search forsomething that often doesn ’t east in the places they look for it.

They might find it here,

Or here,

Or maybe here,

They could try looking here,

Theirsearch might end with a college degree.

One thing’s sure. Wha te ver they’re looking for...

cannot be found inside a number five capsule,

When they try, that’s where /come in. / car/ya badge,

/t was Tuesday, March 75, /t was fair in Los Ange/es.

We were working the day watch out of/uveni/e Narcotics.

My partner’s Bill Gannon. The boss is Captain Richey

My name is Friday

A po werfu/ new drug, capable of producing weird and dangerous hallucinations,

had found its way onto the streets of the city

/t had fallen into the hands ofjuveni/e experimenters,

We had to tryandstop it.

[Man Narrating] The story you are about to see is true.

The names have been changed to protect the innocent

Better get over there in a hurry. Right, Skipper.

Woman who phoned in the complaint said he was painted up like an Indian. Yeah?

Said she never saw a kid do what he was doing. What‘s that, Skipper?

Chewing the bark offa tree.

[Friday Narra ting] 2:08 p. m. Bill and / lefi‘ Georgia 5 tree t ju i/eni/e. ..

and headed for 7200 L oma Linda A venue.

/t was eight blocks fiom the office.

/t took us four and a half minutes to reach the vacant lot..

where the strange—beha ving juvenile was reported to have been seen.

Stand still. Reality, man. Reality.

I could see the center ofthe Earth.

Purple flame down there. The pilot light. All the way down.

Purple flame down there and the pilot light.

— Pilot light ofall creation and reality. — He‘s clean,Joe, except for these.

— Reality. — What‘s your name, son?

You can see my name ifyou look hard enough.

— Come on now. What‘s your name? — Don‘t you know my name?

— My name is Blue Boy! — What do you think,Joe? Cartwheels?

Those sugar cubes— I‘ll make you book he‘s been dropping that acid we‘ve been hearing about.

All right, son. You‘re under arrest.

/t’s our duty to advise you of your constitutional rights.

You have the right to remain silent, and any statement you make may be used against you in a court oflaw.

You have the right to the presence of an attorney

/f you cannot afford one, one will be appointed before any questioning Do you understand that?

There I am. I‘m over there now. I‘m not here anymore.

— My hair is green. I‘m a tree. — You ever seen anybody this torn up?

— It‘s a cinch he‘s not strung out on sugar cubes. — Yeah.

— All right. Let‘s take him to Central Receiving. — Come on, son.

Even ifyour body does die, your mind will live on.

— Yeah, we know. Come on. — You‘re the dirty disbelievers.

The e vi/ disbelie vers/

[Yelling] Evil! Evil! Evil!

All right. Come on, son! Settle down!

Brown. Blue. Yellow. Green.

Green. Orange. Red. Red—Red. Red. I can hearthem. I can hearthem all.

Yeah, sure you can, kid. Let‘s go back to the office. We‘ll all listen.

[Friday Narra ting] 2:20pm. We took the subject to Central Receiving Hospital

The examining doctor pronounced him under the influence of an unknown drug

3:00 p. m. We drove back to juvenile Division.

We took the subject upstairs to the Narcotics Unit

He appeared to be a little calmer, but it was impossible to tell..

if the effects of the drug were substantially wearing ofif

He would not tell us what drug he had taken.

He still refused to give us his name. We filled Captain Richeyin...

and once again we advised the subject of his constitutional rights.

I know my rights, man! I don‘t want a lawyer, and I don‘t need a lawyer!

— There‘s no law against what I did. — There‘s a law against taking drugs.

[Chuckling] Not my kind, man. Not my kind.

You‘re pretty high and far out, aren‘t you? What kind of kick are you on, son?

— Ah, it‘s weird. — What about these?

— Those are keys to the kingdom. — Anything special about these cubes?

I‘m on the train. I‘m on the train.

I‘m on the train. I‘m on the train. I‘m on the train. We‘re crossing over.

We ’re crossing o ver. We ’re crossing o ver. We ’re crossing over on the train.

On the train. On the train. The train. The train.

The train. The train. The train. The train.

The train. The train. The train. The train.

The train. The train. The train. The train.

Whooooo!

Now you stay put in that chair! I am the chair.

I am the chair. I am the chair.

I am the chair. I am the chair. I am the chair. I am the chair.

I am the chair. I am the chair. [Continues, Indistinct]

Get those sugar cubes down to the crime lab.

[Friday Narra ting] Bill and / took the sugar cubes found on the subject..

to the Scientific /n vest/gation Division located in the police building in do wn to wn L os Ange/es.

We talked to forensic chemist Ray Murray

We filled him in on the subject’s appearance and his beha vior pa ttern.

Tell us about the stuff, Ray.

Visual distortions. Strangely disoriented.

It‘s a relatively new drug, developed in Switzerland virtually by accident.

A SWiss biochemist by the name of Hofi‘man came up with the drug in 7938. Yea h.

Lysergic acid diethylamide tartrate, L.S.D.—25.

—What‘s it look like, Ray? — L.S.D.‘s odorless, colorless, tasteless.

Comes in two forms— quuid and powder.

I‘ll run these sugar cubes through, but I can tell you right now they contain L.S.D.

Narcotics Division has handled a couple of cases like yours in the past few weeks.

Even had one where theyput the stufi‘ on the backs of postage stamps.

— Is it habit—forming? — It‘s new, Bill.

We can‘t be sure about physical addiction, but one thing we‘re certain of.

— Yeah? — In every case so far,

every one ofthe individuals has had a psychological dependence on it.

You tell me, which is worse? Are the effects recurrent, would you know?

Definitely a transient recurrence, from what we‘ve seen so far.

User over in the countyjail. Been there six months.

Two days ago, the man showed most of the symptoms...

— ofhaving just had a fiesh shot of the stufif — Hard to believe.

Unlike heroin, which slows down metabolism,

or alcohol, which is a depressant,

the users of LSD. have the mistaken idea that it activates them, quickens their mental lives.

Yeah, like painting yourselfup like an Indian,

trying to chew the bark offa tree, burying your head in a hole.

Users believe they‘re turning into monsters.

They want to destroy themselves, yet have no urge to commit suicide.

They experience the vilest ofgarish, frightening hallucinations.

They suffer extreme nausea, severe vomiting, aches and pains.

— Anxiety, panic, depression. — Sounds like it‘s gonna be a big problem.

Ifit isn‘t, it‘ll do till one comes along.

Joe, Bill, the real issue here is the degree ofdanger...

this drug presents to the psychological health ofthe user,

along with the resultant effect to the user and those around him.

And as of now, there‘s no law covering the sale and use of LSD.

From the number ofcases coming through this lab,

I‘d say they better give you people something to work with damn soon.

[Friday Narra ting] 4:00 p. m. Bill and / lefi‘ the crime lab and headed back to ward Georgia 5 treet juvenile.

Before we lefi‘ him, Ray Murray filled us in on more facts and figures.

A kilo ofL.5.D, two and two—tenths pounds,

can be divided into five million to 70 million doses.

Murray also ga ve us one last fi’ightening fact-

LSD is so potent that a single pound of the preparation...

could turn e very person in L os Ange/es C ountyinto a total psychotic

The population of the county: seven million people.

/t was 4:75pm. when we arrived back at juvenile Division.

What‘d you find out? Well, according to Murray, the Carver boy‘s on L.S.D.

Figured sooner or later, didn‘t it? How is it falling into the hands ofyoungsters like that boy?

I don‘t know, Skipper. Stuff’s selling for eight to 10 bucks a cap.

Come on in the office. Boy‘s parents are here, and they‘re not too happy.

Mr. and Mrs. Carver? Sergeant Friday, Officer Gannon. How are you?

These the two that arrested my boy? That‘s right, Mr. Carver.

Give me one good reason why. Drug intoxication.

— That‘s impossible. — We believe it to be a powerful hallucinogen cal/ed L.5. D

You people trying to say my boy‘s a drug addict?

No, sir, we didn‘t say he was addicted to the drug, but he certainly was intoxicated from it.

Now look, I‘ve heard about this L.S.D., and it‘s my understanding it hasn‘t done anybody any harm.

Ifyou could‘ve seen your boy a couple of hours ago, I doubt you‘d feel that way.

He always go around painted up like that— half his face blue, half yel/o w?

I thought you men were supposed to be experts with young people.

Why, it‘s probably a high school initiation or something.

The boys are always doing some silly thing or other.

L etting their hair gro w long or dressing up like those English singers.

Here, Benjie. Wipe your face and let‘s go home.

[Gannon] /’ve got two kids ofmyown.

/ wouldn’t want to find either one of ’em in a police station.

But we‘re holding your boy for his own safety... and maybe the safety of others.

What do you mean? There‘s no law against what the boy did.

You act like he was taking heroin or smoking marijuana.

You’re not putting my boy in an y jail He is not gonna have an y police record

/f we can ’t settle this right now, maybe m yattorne ys can.

That‘s your privilege, Mr. Carver, but the boy‘s gonna be detained atJuvenile Hall.

He ’// ha ve a hearing, and the judge will decide.

All right. You insist on doing it the hard way.

/happen to know there is no law against L.5. D

There‘s a law against being in a highly intoxicated state under the influence ofany drug or narcotic,

and your boy was and probab/ysti/l is to some extent

Nonsense. You‘re fine, aren‘t you, Son?

—Just fine, Mom. — There. You can see foryourselves.

— Come on, Benjie. We‘re taking you home. — Book him for 601.

[Friday Narra ting] The subject, Benjamin Carver, was booked..

under Section 607 of the Welfare and /nstitution Code,

in danger of leading an idle, dissolute or immoral life.

He was being held for his o wn protection.

Tuesday, May 70, 5:30pm.

The subject’s case was heard in the L os Ange/es County /uveni/e Courts Building

There was no law co vering possession of lysergic acid diethylamide.

However, the petition was sustained for 607 W /. C

Benjie Carver was placed on probation and released to his parents.

Satisfied, Sherlock?

[Friday Narrating] Thursday, May 72, 3.58pm.

Bill and / had been out on a routine fol/o w—up.

When we returned to the squad room, Sergeants Gene Zappe y and Dominic Carr...

were questioning two female juveniles.

A police woman was standing by

This should interest you.

Girls, this is Sergeant Friday and Officer Bill Gannon.

That‘s Edna Mae, and that‘s Sandy.

Tell Sergeant Friday and his partner what you were telling us.

— You mean about our trip? — First tell ‘em how old you are.

I‘m 15. What are you now? Thirteen?

No, you know I‘m 14. I just had my birthday last week.

— Oh,yeah. I forgot. Edna Mae‘s I4. — Go on, Sandy.

I saw all these weird colors, and then I saw an eye.

You know what /mean? A human eye.

/t kept coming closer and closer.

Then all ofa sudden, everything started to melt.

You know? Just melt and run down.

The sidewalk melted. The street melted.Just everything!

— L.S.D. — Both of‘em.

Dropped a cap apiece. Paid three bucks for ‘em.

— Where‘d they get ‘em? — Young friend ofyours.

Edna Mae, tell Sergeant Friday where you got the caps.

We got ‘em from Blue Boy. That‘s what they call him. Just Blue Boy.

Benjie Carver. And they were capsules,you said?

Yeah. Little white ones.

I think I‘m gonna be sick again. Please help me.

Both of‘em were in awful shape a couple hours ago— nausea, vomiting.

/t was all right going out on the trip, but coming back’s a little rough, isn ’t it?

Terrible.Just awful. I‘m so sick.

My head still aches, and my stomach hurts so much.

Edna Mae, can you read this?

No. No, I can‘t. It‘s all swimmy. Everything seems to be moving around.

How long ago did you take the stuff, Edna Mae?

This morning. I forget what time.

Me and Sandy, we ditched school today.

We couldn‘t have gone anyway after we took it.

Sergeant Carr.

Come on, Edna Mae.

[Door Closes] Three bucks a cap.

When it drops to 50 cents, the kids in grammar school will have themselves a big time at recess, won‘t they?

Really getting popular. You seen that bus up on the Strip Friday, Saturday nights?

Big sign on it says, “Can you pass the acid test? Pay your dollar and find out."

Fora buck, they drive you up to the Hollywood Hills to an acid party

Before we‘re through, they‘ll be listing it in the Yellow Pages.

Ifwe couldjust nail ‘em for possession.

How long does it take to mix a batch ofacid? Couple ofdays?

Yeah, about that.

Takes a little longer to stir up a law, doesn‘t it?

[Friday Narra ting] Wednesday, October5. Six months went by

L.SD users were increasing at an alarming rate,

particularly among juveniles.

By now, the users had established their o wn language.

The drug itself was now called "the ticket, ” "the ghost, ” "the beast, ”

"the chief” "the ha wk” orsimp/y "25. ”

Users now referred to themselves as "acidheads ” or "acid fieaks. ”

A "trip ”still referred to having taken the drug,

but nowmore often the words a "bum trip” and "fieak—out” were being heard

meaning a bad L.S D experience.

The pusher, orsupp/ier, became known as the "tra ve/ agent ”

The acidheads came up with another ne w wrinkle.

A fi‘er consuming L . S D, it requires fiom 45 minutes to an hour for the drug to take effect

Most users were nowspending this waiting period inhaling marijuana.

9:00 a. m. Bill and / reported in for work as usual

/t was beginning to look like any other Wednesday

Federal and state. You‘re in business.

In the California book, you‘ll find it on page 38,

Division 10.5, Chapter 1, Section 11901.

Lysergic acid diethylamide has now been classified as a dangerous drug.

— When does the law go into effect? — Forty—eight hours.

[Friday Narrating] Monday, October 7 0, 2:35pm.

/t had been six months since Bill and / first picked up the subject, Benjie Carver.

During all those months, the name "Blue Bo y” kept turning up...

in arrest reports as a majorsupp/ier of LS D

We picked this one up in the Third Street Tunnel.

Didn‘t want to leave. Thought he was a mole.

Holding some acid. Six caps. Name‘s Teddy Carstairs.

Who‘s your travel agent, Teddy?

I already told you.

Tell us again. Why?

Now look. We advised you ofyour rights, and you agreed to talk to us, didn‘t you?

—Yeah. — Well, talk to us.

— Tell us who you bought your tickets from. — The Blue Boy.

— Are you willing to testify to that? — What‘s that mean?

— You willing to swear to it in a court oflaw? —Why not?

— Are you telling us yes? —Well, wouldn‘tyou ifyou was me?

— How is that? — That stinkin‘ Blue Boy.

— And I paid good bread for that too. — Yeah?

That freak, he sold me two bum trips.

[Friday Narrator] With the willingness of Teddy Carstairs to testiij/ against Benjie Carver,

a complaint was issued anda warrant was obtained fiom the district attorney

4:30pm. We drove up to 77 Eagle Crest Drive, Benjie Carver’s home.

His mother told us he had mo ved out three months ago.

She had no idea where we might locate him.

What‘s he done this time? Can you tell me?

Yes, ma‘am. He‘s been selling dangerous drugs to a minor.

— You mean another minor, don‘t you? — No, ma‘am. He‘s 18.

When we find him, he‘ll be tried as an adult. That‘s the law in this state.

I see. I don‘t suppose I have to tell you two men...

my husband and I both owe you an apology.

That‘s all right, ma‘am. We understand.

I—I wonder ifyou‘d do me a favor when you find him.

— What‘s that, Mrs. Carver? —Tell him we still love him.

[Friday Narra ting] Before we lefi‘, we asked Mrs. Carver if we could check the house.

She was cooperative and agreed Bill and / searched the premises. We found nothing

Friday, December9, 8.30pm.

We figured the Sunset S trip might be a good place to dig up a lead

Since the warrant on Benjie Carver was registered and in the hands of all units,

we hoped it wouldn’t be too long before the suspect was picked up.

The parade of teenagers begins at Laurel Canyon and Sunset..

and ends at Dohen y

On FridayandSaturdaynights, formost of the young people in the city,

the S trip had become the "in ”place to go.

/t had also become the scene of teenage riots.

8:45 p. m. Bill and / sho wed Benjie Carver’s mug shots...

to the sherifi"s deputies who patrol the Sunset S trip.

853 pm. A couple of them thought they recognized him, but they weren ’t sure.

[Sandy] Sergeant Friday!

Sandy. Edna Mae. What‘s happening?

Nothing much. Been behaving yourselves?

Haven‘t touched any more ofthat acid. That‘s for sure.

We were invited to an acid party tonight. We told him no. We‘re on our way home.

— You told who no? — Blue Boy. He asked us.

— You have the address? — Yeah, someplace.

It‘s supposed to be up in the hills somewhere.

You gonna break up the party?

About time somebody tried, don‘t you think?

[Friday Narra ting] 7 0' 7 8 p. m. Bill and/ drove up to the address given us by the two girls.

/t was in the Hollywood Hills. /t was an old house that had seen better days.

[Doorbell Buzzes]

They must be way out to leave the door unlocked.

[Sniffs] That‘s weed.

,‘,‘ [Background]

J; [ Continues]

JJ [ Stops]

[Tape Rewinding]

JM Background]

Look at that,Joe.

Enough acid there to turn ‘em on foryears.

Must be at least a hundred caps.

[Sniffs] Marijuana.

[All Shouting] [Painter] Hey, man, who turned on the sun?

All right, hold it down! Quiet! Police officers! You‘re under arrest!

Hold it! Stay right where you are! Freeze!

All ofyou, keep your hands in plain sight. You, on your feet. Come on.

All right! Now sober up and try to listen to this.

/t’s our duty to advise you of your constitutional rights.

You have the right to remain silent,

and an ystatement you make maybe used against you in a court oflaw

You have the right to the presence ofan attorney.

/f you cannot afford one, one will be appointed before any questioning

Now, do you understand that? I do, man. I understand it.

I‘m the one you want to talk to, ‘cause I sure understand it.

Well, fine. Suppose you climb down offofthere and come over here and talk to me.

— Talk to me about Blue Boy. — He swooped the scene, man.

Is he coming back? No, man.

Dig this “C“ table? We‘re in power.

Suppose you go over there and sit down.

Bill, I‘ll call the office, get a couple of black—and—whites up here to take ‘em in.

Right.

You‘re not gonna search me. No, but a policewoman will.

What‘s that address?

Keep your nose out of my purse!

Keep yours out ofthe acid, and next time I will.

Right. I got it. Thanks. Bill.

Call came in to the office an hour ago. Drugstore over on Vermont.

They did a little business with a guy who fits the description ofthe Carver boy.

— What kind of business? — Three thousand empty number five caps.

[Friday Narra ting] Before we lefi‘ the house, we arranged fora stakeout..

in the event the Carver boyshou/d return.

7 7:40 pm. /t took us 72 minutes to get to the Apex Pharmacy at Vermont and Wilcox

The pharmacist’s name was Ben Riddle. We sho wed him a group of mug shots.

Oh, here‘s the fellow right here. Yeah, that‘s him all right.

[Gannon] Benjie Carver.

Here‘s the address where we delivered the capsules. Just a few blocks from here.

Thanks, Mr. Riddle. You‘ve been a big help.

What do you fellows figure he‘s gonna put in all those empty capsules?

A lot ofmisery.

[Friday Narra ting] /t was midnight when we arrived at the Macon Apartments on West Beverly.

We got the manager out of bed

That‘s right. Benjie Carver. He‘s in the apartment over there. 107.

He in now, would you know? I should say so.

I was going to call you people until they quieted down about an hour ago.

They? That‘s right.

Sounds to me as though he‘s got another boy in there with him,

and the two ofthem were really whooping it up.

I see. Do you have a passkey we could borrow?

Yes, I do. Here. This one‘ll do. Thankyou very much.

You‘re welcome. I‘ll cover the window,Joe.

Right.

Police officer. What‘s your name? PhilipJameson.

How old are ya? Eighteen.

Poor Benjie.

Look at him. What‘s the matter with him?

He is been like that for o ver an hour.

He had some kind of a fit, and then he got quiet

Look at this,Joe. Acid, reds, yellows, rainbows.

Those are Benjie‘s. He‘s been taking ‘em all day.

just kept saying he wanted to get further out

Further out. Further out.

Just kept saying he wanted to get further out.

Well, he made it. He‘s dead.

[Narrator] The story you ha ve just seen is true.

The names were changed to protect the innocent

On December 75, a coroner’s inquest..

was held at the County Morgue,

Hall of/ustice, City and County of L os Ange/es.

/n a moment, the results of that inquest

At the inquest, the coroner’s jury ruled that the 7 8—year—o/dsuspect..

had administered himself an o verdose of lysergic acid diethylamide...

in combination with various barbiturates, and had thus taken his own life.