The founders of the group started at
the influence of Timothy Leary's book's and comments to “Turn on,
tune in, drop out.” The group, first calling the members “the
disciples” and organizing a non-profit religious group that
believed that LSD\acid could be useful as a treatment for other
addictions and there violent behavior and put them in an utopia
state. (Source) They eventually set up a headshop in downtown Laguna
beach 670 S. Pacific Coast Highway across from the Taco Bell that
still stands their today called the Mystic Arts World. (Source)
The founders set up their “church”
as a commune in a mountain town East of Orange County called
Idyllwild in Modjeska Canyon. Their they wanted to tune out the
world, aspire to have Timothy Leary be their leader and enjoy the
exit from society. With the publicity of their organization, many
people were afraid to visit in fear of incarceration. Also many
members of the Brotherhood were smugglers and didn't attain for the
solitude life, but instead more for the entrepreneurial aspect of the
money made. (Source)
Some notable groups and people
benefited from the Brotherhood of Eternal Love. Howard Mark's, or Mr.
Nice smuggled for the group. In the late 60's the famous blond
surfer from The Endless Summer, Mike
Hynson, began to smuggle hashish from India back to Southern
California by storing it in hollowed out surfboards.(Source)
In
1970 many people of the hippie movement were going to the Hawaiian
island of Maui, and so did the Brotherhood of Eternal love. Loaded
with a 1500 Kilos of Mexican weed, the Aafje Schooner was bought,
loaded and put through the Panama Canal and then made it's way to
Maui. This weed was the origination of the popular cannabis strain
Maui Wowie.(Source)
Hollowed surfboards packed with Maui Wowie made it's way back to the
mainland.
On Christmas Day in 1970, a show was
organized in Laguna Beach called “Laguna Beach on Acid” had an
airplane dropped thousand of advertisements with a dose of Orange
Sunshine LSD. At the time they were the nation's largest narcotics
network. The proceeds of sales ended up funding to help Timothy Leary
who had escaped from a jail in central California to help him flee to
Kabul Afghanistan. (Source)
The Brotherhood of Eternal Love started
to break down on August 5th, 1972 when raids in
California, Oregon, and Maui, Afghanistan arrested 45 members. All
being released a couple months later the group went underground or
abroad. The last arrest was in 2009, and a book was published in 2010
by Nicholas Schou and a documentary called Orange Sunshine is
out on Youtube. (Source)
In a speech by Nicholas Schou on
youtube, he interviewed a member that said that his theory of that
cocaine ended the brotherhood. The love and spirituality in this
members opinion was ruined with the destruction of that vibe with
cocaine and the desire to make money for drugs. (Source)
Source:
Nicholas Schou in Orange Sunshine
Documentary
