LSD experiments by the United States Army

Introduction

Ross frames the historical LSD testing carried out by the US Army (principally at Edgewood Arsenal and Fort Detrick) within a broader history of chemical and biological (CB) weapons research and contemporary renewed psychiatric interest in hallucinogens. Earlier research and official reports document extensive human testing of CB agents from the Second World War through the 1960s, and the author emphasises that these experiments were sometimes presented as ‘‘defensive’’ while involving toxic agents in quantities and contexts that suggest broader, potentially offensive programmes. The introduction notes that documentation of the Army’s LSD work is intertwined with CIA and Air Force projects (for example MKULTRA and related programmes) and that available military follow-up data make the Army an important locus for assessing long-term health effects. The stated purpose of the paper is to challenge the Army’s claim that its LSD experiments produced no lasting harm. Ross sets out to re-examine Army and other government documents (including the Veterans Health Initiative (VHI) material, NRC reviews, a Senate Committee report, and the US Army Medical Department follow-up study) in order to demonstrate that these sources actually record frequent and sometimes severe short- and long-term complications attributed to LSD exposure. The review also raises the contemporary ethical question of whether any classified testing or use of hallucinogens in interrogations might presently be producing long-term harm.