What Is LSD?

LSD has many effects on the body moreover the mind for example “An hour later Stanley thought he had gone insane. His head was filled with terrifying visions and his body seemed to tumble through time and space. Then his mind snapped and sent him into a frenzy of rage. According to Linda Hunt, "They told me the next day that I broke down the door and ran down the hall screaming," Stanley

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide or LSD is a hallucinogenic drug that can be taken orally, injected or even absorbed through the skin. Once LSD has entered the body, it starts to take effects on the levels of serotonin in the brain which can cause; hallucinations, mood change, and even sensory distortion. After taking LSD, the effects on the brain usually last from 6 to 9 hours depending on multiple factors; the dosage of LSD taken, the subject taking LSD, and even the user 's mood can affect the duration of LSD use. LSD is a non-lethal, non-addictive, and a non-habit forming drug that has little to no effect on the long-term health of an individual. However, LSD has been illegal since the 1960 's. Not only did availability of LSD become scarce with the criminalization of the substance, but the legislation also put a halt on the research of the chemical as well. Much of the way LSD interacts with the brain has been left unknown. This derivative from the rye fungus Ergot has been the source of controversy that has left many people wondering why LSD has been classified as a drug that is just as dangerous to use as heroin. It becomes difficult for an individual to understand how legislation could criminalize a chemical without completely understanding how it functions and affects people. LSD should be legalized for scientific, medical and recreational usage.

Since the 20th century, many medical professionals and researchers have been attempting to utilize psychedelic drugs in psychological illnesses treatments. In many testing cases, these psychedelic drugs were having hallucination effects on the patients. For examples, psychedelic drugs such as LSD and methoxamine are capable of changing a person’s moods, feelings, or even behaviors in either positive or negative ways. However, after decades of restriction on psychedelic drugs in 1960s, hallucinogens have been researched constantly in order to find a proper ways to utilize them in medicine. In other words, medical experts have been testing these drugs occasionally on patients, raising questions about medical ethics as a result. For instance, various patients reported to experience drug addiction, violent or suicidal thoughts, and physical syndromes such as coma, seizures, or loss of muscular coordination. Therefore, not only the testing of psychedelic drugs causes ethical debates, but the use of these drugs in general also questions whether they should be used in medicine at all.

Project MK Ultra was first brought to public attention by anonymous tips (“Id,”2016). Because of those tips, in 1975 the Church Committee of the U.S. Congress and Gerald Ford began to investigate CIA activities within the United States (“Id,”2016). Investigative efforts were initially hampered by the fact that CIA Director Richard Helms ordered all MK Ultra files destroyed in 1973; however, the Church Committee and Rockefeller Commission investigations relied on both the sworn testimony of direct participants and on the relatively small number of documents that survived Helms ' destruction order (“Id,”2016). “One 1955 MK Ultra document gives an indication of the size and range of the effort; this document refers to the study of an assortment of mind-altering substances” (“Id,”2016). Obviously enough information survived or else we still wouldn’t know about these experiments today.

Project MKUltra, sometimes referred to as Project Monarch, is a program of many different experiments tested on American Citizens by the CIA. Experiments on humans were intended to identify and develop drugs and procedures to be used in interrogations and torture, in order to weaken the individual to force confessions through mind control. Project MKUltra started in the 1950’s and lasted around 20 years. The CIA experimented on countless unsuspecting American Citizens that were exposed to drugs, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, abuse and torture. Subjects that were least likely to put up a fight were picked for the operation. Popular places and subjects were nursing homes, prisons, mental hospitals, homeless people, and drug addicts. Over 44 different universities were involved in the operation. Doctor Sidney Gottlieb was chosen to lead the program when it officially began in 1953. The US started mind control experiments, torture, and brainwashing programs after reports that the Chinese and North Koreans were testing techniques on prisoners of war in WWII. The CIA was authorized to commit 6% of of their entire operating budget on MKUltra with no guidelines or oversight on how it was spent. Operations for MKUltra were so secretive that even the agents running the the CIA front companies were alleged to have not known anything beyond their own

While psychedelics can create a profound sense of distortion from reality urging the importance of putting yourself in a the right setting with the right people, there is little evidence that links psychedelics to toxic effects on the brain or body. So much so that researchers from the EmmaSofia organization in Oslo Norway claim that psychedelics are no more dangerous than common activities including playing soccer or riding a bike (Krebs, 2015). Psychedelic substances are known for altering your perception of reality, which could be dangerous if you’re somewhere that presents physical risks, but research suggests the psychedelics themselves do no damage physically. Not only are the psychedelics safe but they also provide therapeutic

The first experiment that was done with human subjects was agreeing on being apart of the study by signing a consent form. The human subjects that volunteered to be apart of this study were given hallucinogenic drugs. After completing the experiment, the human subjects, who were volunteer prisoners at a rehabilitation center in Kentucky, got addicted to some of the drugs that were being tested and “as a reward far participation in the program, the addicts were provided with the drugs of their addiction” (“94TH Congress…”). During the CIA’s research they tested several subjects using another drug that is known as LSD. They wanted to use LSD to be able to control the bodies of their enemies. They also used the drugs to develop ways to kill or disable their enemies, specifically the Soviets during the Cold War. The CIA wanted to use these mind controlling drugs because the Soviets were using them against their own enemies. The CIA said that “there is ample evidence in the reports of innumerable interrogations that the communists were utilizing drugs, physical duress, electric shock, and possibly hypnosis against their enemies” (“94TH Congress…”). The CIA began testing the LSD drug on human subjects without their consent “in normal settings by undercover officers of Bureau of Narcotics acting for the CIA” (“94TH Congress…”). The CIA tested the human subjects who did not consent in order to see if LSD was

MKUltra was a series of government-run programs that began in the early 1950s. The MKUltra project was started on CIA director Allen Welsh Dulles’ order in 1953 - “MK” meaning that it was sponsored by the agency’s Technical Service Staff, and “Ultra” had previously been used to designate the most secret classification of WWII intelligence. It involved illegal experiments on human subjects - most of these subjects had no clue as to what they were getting into. These unwitting human subjects were U.S. and Canadian citizens, which led to controversy regarding its legitimacy. The CIA undertook the experiments and their original goal was to figure out how to control the minds of Communist spies as well as create a “super soldier” - a human that was essentially programmed to kill on command and follow every order. Barring their main goal, the CIA also administered drugs such as LSD to the public in an attempt to continue their research on mind control - they wanted to develop a type of mind control drug for use against the Soviet bloc. The CIA was incredibly interested in being able to manipulate foreign leaders with these mind controlling techniques - precisely Fidel Castro. The CIA would later attempt to create schemes in order to drug Castro. The experiments that were being performed on the subjects were often done without the subjects’ knowledge or consent. There were

Merry Pranksters were famous for using LSD and they used higher doses of LSD because they felt that they were in touch with the nature spiritually and it also gave them sensations that they never felt before. In reality, LSD is a

When many Americans think about Germany, they think of the Nazis and the experiments they did with the Jews. However, what they are unfamiliar with is that the U.S. government did the same thing. “It all started in the 50’s during the Korean War.” Concerned about the rumors of Communist brainwashing of POWs, the CIA director Allen Dulled sanctioned the MKULTRA program in April 1953.Project MKULTRA is one of the most famous activities relating to the CIA’s efforts toward mass mind control. There were many different tests conducted as a part of the project, including some conducted on volunteers, inmates, and unsuspecting targets. (Wolfe 1)

Believe it or not, there were other similar projects before MK-ULTRA. MK-ARTICHOKE founded in 1951 was to study hypnosis and machine addictions. Other sub-projects like MK-SEARCH, MK-OFTEN, project BLUEBIRD and a whole lot more were apart of MK-ULTRA. Even the US military ran their own tests of mind control. All of these projects were prior the MK-ULTRA. During the late 1940's the CIA produced and played very important roles in what was then known as Operation PAPERCLIP, probably the biggest sub-project in MK-ULTRA history. This branch of MK-ULTRA brought more than 1500 scientists, doctors, and engineers to America from Germany and other foreign countries. The three main purposes for PAPERCLIP were to prevent the Soviet and UK from getting their hands on German technology; gain German scientific expertise and knowledge and prevent Germany from rebuilding their strength military and scientifically wise. Another big part of MK-ULTRA was MK-SEARCH. MK-SEARCH in 1964 became a successor for a lot of MK-ULTRA. A whole bunch of projects and tests went under the name of MK-ULTRA, but the more sensitive projects and tests went under

Project MkUltra, a “mind control program” instated by the Central Intelligence Agency from 1953 to 1973, is a prime example of an ethics violation, that is still discussed today and even used as a basis for tv series’ (Stranger Things) due to its immorality. During this time period, the American Central Intelligence Agency conducted tests on human subjects, without their consent or knowledge. This was an effort to control minds and discover a drug that could force prisoners to answer questions truthfully when under interrogation. This program involved the distribution of LSD and other drugs to unsuspecting victims. The agency went to extreme lengths to develop a drug that could be used as a “truth serum.” Project MKUltra was driven by inexcusable

Are they using their experiment to turn our own mind against us? The MK Ultra Project is a secret CIA mind controlling project,and for years (since the 1950’s to be exact) this horrific project has gone unnoticed to the public eye. The CIA is still working and perfecting this project because for some reason every time they test it, something goes wrong.

In fact the precise neural pathway that LSD effects is not fully known but LSD has such a similar chemical structure to that of the neurotransmitter called serotonin in the brain which contributes to feelings of happiness and well being and it may affect sleep and appetite as well. It is believed that LSD modifies the way the brain’s serotonin receptors work preventing neurotransmission or stimulation. For a person with a serious mental illness, LSD can be dangerous as it may worsen or speed up the effects of their illness. For example, a person who suffers from schizophrenia and takes LSD may worsen their current mental

On April 16, 1943, Dr. Hoffman decided to do further research with the LSD compound (Dye, 1992 p. 5). While handling the drug,