Cold War LSD Tests on US Soldiers
The US military conducted secret LSD experiments on soldiers during the Cold War. The CIA's MKUltra program, led by Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, administered LSD to unsuspecting soldiers. The program was classified and spanned over a decade.
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The US Military's Secret LSD Experiments
On November 16, 1955, Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, a chemist at the CIA, launched a secret program to test the effects of LSD on US soldiers at Fort Detrick, Maryland. This marked the beginning of a covert operation that would span over a decade. Dr. Gottlieb's team, working under the auspices of the CIA's MKUltra program, administered LSD to unsuspecting soldiers to gauge its potential as a mind control agent.
What Everyone Knows
Most people think the US military's experiments with LSD were a product of the 1960s counterculture, but the standard story goes that these tests were actually part of a larger Cold War effort to stay ahead of the Soviets. The common understanding is that the military was searching for a way to create "super soldiers" or to develop a new form of psychological warfare. However, this narrative oversimplifies the complex motivations and circumstances surrounding the experiments.
What History Actually Shows
Historian Stephen Kinzer, in his book "Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control," reveals that the CIA's interest in LSD began in the early 1950s, with the first tests taking place in 1953. By 1955, the program had expanded to include tests on US soldiers, with the goal of determining whether LSD could be used to extract information from enemy prisoners or to create a mind control serum. According to declassified documents, including a 1959 memo from the CIA's Inspector General, the agency's scientists were actively experimenting with LSD as a potential truth serum, with the goal of using it to interrogate high-ranking Soviet officials. Historian John D. Marks, in his book "The Search for the 'Manchurian Candidate,'" notes that the CIA's MKUltra program was not only focused on LSD, but also on other methods of mind control, including hypnosis and sensory deprivation. By 1964, the program had been expanded to include tests on civilians, with disastrous consequences. The CIA's experiments with LSD continued until 1967, when the program was officially shut down, but the details of the experiments remained classified for decades, with many documents still remaining secret to this day.
The Part That Got Buried
Decisions made by high-ranking officials in the US military and government deliberately kept the LSD experiments under wraps, ensuring this story was forgotten. The CIA's director, Allen Dulles, played a significant role in suppressing the information, as he oversaw the agency's mind control program, which included the LSD tests. The US Army's Chemical Corps also participated in the experiments, and their involvement was not publicly disclosed. Historian John D. Marks has pointed out that the CIA destroyed most of the documents related to the program in 1973, which made it difficult for researchers to reconstruct the events. This destruction of evidence was a concrete reason why this history was not told, as it deprived investigators of crucial information. Researchers had to rely on fragments of surviving documents and testimony from participants to piece together the story.
The Ripple Effect
The LSD experiments conducted by the US military had concrete consequences, particularly in the development of modern psychedelic research. The tests, although controversial and often inhumane, contributed to a greater understanding of the effects of LSD on the human mind. This knowledge has been applied in recent years to the study of psychedelic-assisted therapy, with researchers exploring the potential of LSD and other psychedelics to treat mental health conditions such as PTSD. For instance, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a nonprofit organization, has been conducting clinical trials on the use of MDMA, a psychedelic substance, to treat PTSD in veterans. This modern application of psychedelic research can be directly linked to the experiments conducted during the Cold War era.
The Line That Says It All
The US military's LSD experiments on soldiers during the Cold War were classified under the CIA's mind control program, code-named MKUltra, which was only officially acknowledged in 1977.
A Note on Sources
This article draws on historical records, documented accounts, and academic research related to the US military's experimentation with LSD during the Cold War.
