It is not necessary to injest any drug to write as Bob Dylan did. Whether it is helpful to, on the other hand, would depend on the individual. Had no drugs of any kind been available, I feel quite sure that Bob would still have been able to write the lyrics he did, but a few of the specific details in certain songs would have been changed, and that's all.

The importance of mind-altering drugs was blown so far out of proportion during the 60's that it became absolutely ludicrous. I know. I was there. It was a joke.

You can alter your mind in the same and in more powerful ways without using any drugs at all.

You can write like Dylan that way too. I have. But I'll say this...I don't think I ever quite matched the imagery in "Mr Tambourine Man, It's Allright Ma, or Gates of Eden...to name some from his most evocative period...which was around 1965.

- LH