Pickard, Leonard
Person
Dates
- Existence: 1945-10-21
William Leonard Pickard is a skilled chemist, recognized intellectual, and published author. He is a graduate of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and holds degrees in public policy and chemistry. He has held positions as a research associate in neurobiology at the Harvard Medical School; a Fellow in drug policy with the Interfaculty Initiative on Drugs and Addictions (part of Harvard's Mind, Brain and Behavior program); and deputy director of the Drug Policy Analysis Program at UCLA.
In 1996, his research accurately predicted the opioid crisis in the United States. Details of this research can be found in the RAND publication “The Future of Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids” (2019). His quasi-memoir “The Rose of Paracelsus: On Secrets and Sacraments” (2015) is a self-described “literary experiment” that follows the paths of six underground chemists from alchemical, esoteric, and metaphysical perspectives. It was written in pencil, on scraps of paper at a high security prison, and later published in 2015 by the Sub Rosa press.
From November 2000 to June 2020, Pickard served two consecutive life sentences at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson for his alleged involvement in an LSD manufacturing operation at a decommissioned nuclear missile silo in Wamego, Kansas. He was granted a compassionate release given his advanced age and medical conditions in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 1996, his research accurately predicted the opioid crisis in the United States. Details of this research can be found in the RAND publication “The Future of Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids” (2019). His quasi-memoir “The Rose of Paracelsus: On Secrets and Sacraments” (2015) is a self-described “literary experiment” that follows the paths of six underground chemists from alchemical, esoteric, and metaphysical perspectives. It was written in pencil, on scraps of paper at a high security prison, and later published in 2015 by the Sub Rosa press.
From November 2000 to June 2020, Pickard served two consecutive life sentences at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson for his alleged involvement in an LSD manufacturing operation at a decommissioned nuclear missile silo in Wamego, Kansas. He was granted a compassionate release given his advanced age and medical conditions in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Citation
Materials within the collectionPickard's personal website http://www.freeleonardpickard.org/
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
William Leonard Pickard papers
Unprocessed — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 20200501
Dates:
2015 - 2020