The Munich story is always good for some conjecture - the myth is so prominent in the band's history that it's impossible to ignore. Of course it makes for a wonderfully sensational story that is probably much more interesting than the truth behind it. My thoughts have been consistent with John, Vinnie, and Ms. Moose, that it was probably not the catalyst for such a sudden transformation in Peter Green as what has usually been portrayed. Of course I was not there either, and none of us except Peter know just what his state of mind was during that period - and he may no longer recall that so clearly anymore himself.
The band members at that point were all very young, and I doubt that they had any experience in dealing with mental health issues of the type that would strike Peter. And I'm sure they were having such a good time in the band that it would have been easy to overlook the onset of such issues, which may have started prior to the Munich visit. I suspect that most of us, had we been in their shoes, might well have seen things in the same way.
So when Peter finally told the band he was quitting immediately after the Munich stay, it would have been easy for them to blame what may have seemed like a sudden change of heart on what happened there. In retrospect, it seems very likely that Peter had wanted to leave the band for some time at that point - signs of him wanting to leave at an earlier date are contained in Celmins' writing and elsewhere - but his finally making the decision and telling the band may still have come as a shock to them.
But the stories of Peter wanting to give away large sums of money to charity certainly predate Munich, his musical style had been changing for some time already (and there's no dramatic change that can be noticed in the shows performed immediately before and after the Munich date), and from what I've read, his behavior had already displayed the impact of the stress that must have come with the constant demands of touring and of producing more hit records.
It's certainly possible that what happened in Munich may have given Peter the resolve to finally make that decision to leave, but we'll probably never know. But here's a thought that I'm not sure I've seen expressed elsewhere - having made that decision, Peter may well have changed how he dealt with the other band members, the media, etc. It must have seemed a huge weight off his shoulders, and it would not be surprising if that alone would alter his behavior. He may not have felt the same sense of responsibility or comradery toward his bandmates and others that he had felt before. If that was the case, I can understand how the other band members could have seen Munich as being the cause of the dramatic and sudden change in his behavior that is so often described, since Peter's decision to leave came immediately afterwards. It may have had less to do with his mental health or with LSD and more with how he may have suddenly felt himself to be separate from those around him in the band, knowing that he was about to move on. I don't know whether that was really the case, but it seems a reasonable conjecture given what we do know.
I'm far from an expert in mental health issues, and have little idea of just when they began to affect Peter. Perhaps the onset of his problems was quite sudden, but I think it's very possible that it may have just seemed that way to those around him.
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