The Manson Family (known among its members as the Family) was a commune, gang and cult led by criminal Charles Manson that was active in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. At its peak the group consisted of approximately 100 followers who lived an unconventional lifestyle, frequently using psychoactive drugs, including amphetamine and hallucinogens such as LSD. Most were young women from middle-class backgrounds, many of whom were attracted by hippie counterculture and communal living, and then radicalized by Manson's teachings. The group murdered at least nine people, and may have killed as many as twenty-four.
Manson had been institutionalized or incarcerated for more than half of his life by the time he was released from prison in 1967.