Overview
The organization was founded by Dr. David E. Smith in Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, California on June 7, 1967, during the counterculture of the 1960s, when thousands of youth arrived in the city, many in need of substance abuse treatment, mental health service, and medical attention. [3] According to Smith, he had a revelation that healthcare should be provided to all during an LSD induced trip. In anticipation of the arrival, he proposed a 'hippie clinic' to the public heath department, who replied "We don’t want to take care of them. We want them to go away." [4] The clinic was frequently subjected to police raids in search of drugs, runaways, and Berkeley protesters. [4] It was alleged that, on some occasions, the police beat up doctors working at free clinics. [4] [5] They kept little medical logs, for fear that the logs could be used in the persecution of hippies, and to build communal trust. [6] People would frequently enter the clinic with superficial injuries, likely to get a feel for the vibes before voicing their real problems.
Louis Jolyon West—a LSD researcher involved in MKUltra—lived near the clinic, and was allowed by Smith to recruit clients for experiments. [7] He had been the only scientist in the world to predict the emergence of "LSD Cults". [8] Coincidently, Charles Manson frequented the clinic for parol meetings, as well as to receive treatments for STDs and pregnancies. [9] While there is no evidence that West ever conferred with Manson, given the set of circumstances, some have asserted that Manson's murders were a product of MKUltra, [10] including in the non-fiction book CHAOS. It is also plausible [10] [11] that Smith's own LSD research was secretly being funded by the CIA, as the clinic was intermittently federally funded, it is known that the CIA funded such research using front organizations, and many patients matched the CIA's typical test subject—"people who could not fight back." [12] [13]
Bill Graham, who hosted shows at an auditorium in Fillmore, offered to stage benefit concerts to raise money for the clinic. Among the performers at these "Rock Medicine" events was Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, and the Grateful Dead. [14]
Subsequently to the Summer of Love, the clinic mostly focused on addressing drug problems in its local community. It continued to do so until its 2019 closure. [15]
The clinics merged in 2011 with Walden House—an addiction treatment organization. In 2012 they adopted a new name: HealthRIGHT 360. [16]
In 2017, the clinic was defrauded out of over $700,000. [17] With the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, access to healthcare grew. The clinic struggled to offer wages that were competitive against commercial providers. In addition, resulting from gentrification, an increasingly fewer number of community members needed its services. As a result of these problems, the clinics operated by HealthRIGHT began losing over $1 million a year, prompting closure from HealthRIGHT. Despite its closure, HealthRIGHT retains the building, and the space continues to be utilized for needle exchange programs offered by an independent non-profit. [18]
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