I recently came across a curious connection. And it may be nothing more than a simple coincidence, or it may be something else entirely. By this point, we’re all pretty well familiarized with the work of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Dianetics and Scientology. But have you ever heard of Alfred Hubbard, the so-called “Johnny Appleseed of LSD”?

Is it just me or these men share a certain resemblence? If not physically, then at least in the lasting effects they had on culture. Ron Hubbard created a wildly successful spiritual-business, the teachings and structure of which went on to influence a huge number of people in the 50’s & 60’s and helped springboard a great deal of the New Age Movement. Alfred Hubbard on the other hand took LSD in 1951 and began a campaign of personally “turning on” a variety of influential figures including Aldous Huxley and some 6,000 others. Hubbard was granted the sole permit to import Sandoz LSD into Canada and the FDA gave him an Investigational New Drug premit that allowed him to experiment with LSD in the United States.

Hubbard is known to have worked undercover for the FDA and the FBI, the OSS (forerunner to the CIA), and allegedly worked for Willis Harman out of the SRI (Stanford Research Institute). He supposedly worked for Harman “spying on the drug culture, which Hubbard, a political conservative, disdained.” Also:

Harman and Hubbard shared a goal “to provide the [LSD] experience to political and intellectual leaders around the world.” Harman acknowledges that “Al’s job was to run the special [LSD] sessions for us.”

Interesting to note also that SRI employed up to fourteen Scientologist “clears” who were involved in remote viewing - quite possibly during Hubbard’s tenure there.

Another weird connection is that both Alfred and Ron enjoyed a fascination with maritime life. Calling himself “Captain Alfred Hubbard”, he seems to have had a stint in the Merchant Marines. He also seems to have worked as a rum-runner, shipping booze back and forth from Canada and the US, and smuggling heavy armaments by sea. The Church of Scientology meanwhile claims that Ron Hubbard was working for Naval Intelligence in the late 40’s (particularly when he “broke up the black magic ring” being run by Jack Parsons). Wikipedia also brings in Ron’s fixation with the high seas:

In 1967, Hubbard left this unwanted attention behind by resigning as executive director of the church and appointing himself “Commodore” of a small fleet of Scientologist-crewed ships which spent the next eight years cruising the Mediterranean Sea. Here, Hubbard formed the para-military group known as the “Sea Organization,” or “Sea Org.” With titles and uniforms of Hubbard’s design, the Sea Org subsequently became the controlling group within Hubbard’s Scientology empire.

I wonder if anyone has looked at the service records of these two men to see if they overlap anywhere. Nevermind looking into their geneology

Another interesting bit on Alfred Hubbard:

“To Al,” says Myron Stolaroff, “LSD enabled man to see his true self, his true nature and the true order of things.” But, to Hubbard, the true order of things had little to do with the antics of the American Left.

Recognizing its potential psychic hazards, Hubbard believed that LSD should be administered and monitored by trained professionals. He claimed that he had stockpiled more LSD than anyone on the planet besides Sandoz–including the US government–and he clearly wanted a firm hand in influencing the way it was used. However, Hubbard refused all opportunities to become the LSD Philosopher-King. Whereas Leary would naturally gravitate toward any microphone available, Hubbard preferred the role of the silent curandero, providing the means for the experience, and letting voyagers decipher its meaning for themselves.

Anyway, certainly none of this really proves anything. But like I said what’s interesting to me is the enormous impact that these men had as their actions spread out in waves through the culture, their influence overlapping in many ways.