Why did hippies do drugs?

Most hippies used drugs for the spiritual experience, and not just to "trip". Using LSD to them was like wat communion is for catholics. Just as the Native Americans used peyote, tobacco, bark, etc. Personally, LSD should be used when the person is alone, and in a mind-expanding environment, such as the woods, fields, etc. This allows people (usually the hippies) to undercut the person who they thought they really were. It helped them break away from the confines of their mind and the society that mankind has built up around itself, the same one that makes laws, religions, etc. Using this information and information I have read from people like Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert, I would say that the best way to answer your question is this... Drugs open the third eye (pineal gland) of the subconscious. And only wen this happens, can we realize the truth and meaning to the universe.