[ref. harm reduction]

http://www.ssonet.com.au/display.asp?ArticleID=4355


LSD and the CIA

Sydney Star Observer
Issue 767
Published 2/06/2005



It's always fascinating to look back in history and see where drugs
have come from and how they have been used.

One of the most interesting stories as far as drug history is
concerned relates to LSD and the CIA. LSD (d-lysergic acid
diethylamide) is a powerful hallucinogen which can produce
significant changes in perception, mood and thought.

Only a very small amount is needed to cause visual hallucinations and
distortions. These experiences are known as trips.

In the late 1940s the CIA began a program which examined the
possibility of the use of interrogation drugs and truth serums by the
US military.

They experimented with a wide range of substances including caffeine,
barbiturates, peyote and cannabis. Part of this program actually
involved trying to get subjects to kill while under hypnosis, much
like what was depicted in the 1960s movie The Manchurian Candidate.

By 1953 a project named MK-ULTRA was authorised by the CIA to perfect
mind-control drugs.

One of the most controversial components of the program was Operation
Midnight Climax. This involved using LSD surreptitiously on the
street to gauge its effects.

The CIA employed drug-dependent prostitutes to pick up men from bars
and then take them back to a CIA-financed brothel. Unknowing
customers were given drinks laced with LSD while officers watched and
documented every moment behind two-way mirrors.

At the time, LSD was seen as one of the best possible weapons for the
future with the Army Chemicals Corps believing that spiking a city's
water supply with acid and taking over would be far more humane that
dropping an atom bomb on it.

Following on from LSD, the American army developed a new drug,
quinuclidinyl benzilate, or BZ, which was named a "super
hallucinogen".

This drug sounds really out there as it affected those who used it
for three days, with some symptoms such as headaches, giddiness,
auditory and visual hallucinations, and maniacal behaviour reported
to have lasted for as long as six weeks.

It is believed that 2,800 soldiers were exposed to BZ through the
duration of the program, most of them knowingly.

We appear to be seeing a resurgence of interest in LSD, with people
using tabs, sugar cubes and even liquid LSD. In the 1960s the potency
of the drug was extremely high, each trip containing approximately
250 micrograms of LSD.

Nowadays the acid experience is far more manageable, with the average
potency of a tab being roughly 50 micrograms, although we are now
hearing of far higher doses being available.

Hallucinogenic drugs are not for everyone – many fear the loss of
control and the length of intoxication that are part of this often
extreme experience. Once you go tripping, you're really in for the
long haul – if you have a bad trip you will just have to ride it out.

Remember: if you do not want any negative consequences, do not use
the drug and, no matter how many times you have used a substance,
never be blasé.