LSD experiments by the United States Army

This article (2017) examines the history of LSD experiments within the US army and their frequent short and long-term side effects and complications that have, according to the author, not received enough attention in the recent resurgence of interest in psychedelics.

Abstract

“Extensive LSD testing was conducted by the US Army at Edgewood Arsenal and other locations from 1955 to 1967. A number of different reports have been produced describing the health effects of this testing, including the Veterans Health Initiative Report in 2003. By and large, these reports gloss over and minimize the short and long-term side effects and complications of this testing. However, the reports themselves document frequent, severe complications of the LSD. These side effects were regarded by the Army as having been directly caused by the LSD exposure. In view of the current resurgence of interest in hallucinogens within psychiatry, the sanitized version of the effects of LSD exposure on US soldiers needs to be replaced with a more accurate account.”

Author: Colin A. Ross

Summary

The US Army conducted extensive LSD testing at Edgewood Arsenal and other locations from 1955 to 1967. The reports themselves document frequent, severe complications of the LSD exposure.

Introduction

The US Army conducted hallucinogen, chemical and biological weapons experiments at Edgewood Arsenal (EARL) and Fort Detrick in Maryland, and at other locations, which are of historical interest and relevance to current events.

The Department of Veterans Affairs published an 84-page independent study guide on health effects from chemical, biological and radiological weapons in 2003. The publication is ambiguous, since it states that the program is ‘essentially’ only defensive, but information gathered for defensive purposes can easily be adapted for offensive use.

The US Army conducted LSD experiments on soldiers, which caused long-term harm to those who were tested. Are there any ongoing classified experiments causing long-lasting harm to those who are given such compounds?

The US Army conducted LSD experiments that were intertwined with LSD experiments conducted by the CIA and US Air Force. The purpose of focusing on the US Army is that it provides the only follow-up data on subjects of LSD experiments conducted by the US military and the CIA.

Timeline of early chemical and biological weapons experiments at Edgewood Arsenal

The 2003 VHI study guide provides a basic timeline of US chemical and biological weapons experimentation. It describes mustard gas and Lewisite experiments conducted on US soldiers during the Second World War.

By the end of World War II, the US had produced 87,000 tons of mustard gas, far more than was required for defensive or research purposes.

Safety measures for experimental personnel and handlers of these agents were grossly deficient, and thousands of injuries and hundreds of deaths were reported during the Second World War as a result of mustard gas exposure.

The US military conducted chemical and biological weapons experiments at Edgewood Arsenal between 1950 and 1975, during which 6,700 soldiers were exposed to 254 different chemicals. These figures are likely to be underestimates due to under-reporting and lack of controls in the early years of the program.

A list of 28 different viruses, bacteria and vaccines were tested on human volunteers from 1958 to 1973 at Edgewood. Follow-up of experimental subjects was inadequate, but an unknown number experienced serious effects.

Government-sponsored reports on health effects from chemical, biological and radiological weapons experiments by the US Army

The National Research Council examined the long-term health effects of exposure to chemicals tested on volunteer service members between 1982 and 1985 and did not detect any significant long-term health effects.

The LSD Follow-up Study Report (USAMD, 1980) describes numerous soldiers with personality disorders, many of which pre-existed their participation in the experiments. If these soldiers made it through the screening procedure, then the procedure was either a pretence or applied in a haphazard fashion.

If we believe the supposedly carefully screened, psychological healthy soldiers, many of their problems began immediately after the testing and were caused by the LSD they ingested.

Edgewood testing programs had some sort of informed consent procedure, but it was a pretense of consent rather than the real thing. Subjects were not told what substances they would receive, the known or possible toxicities of the substances, or the cumulative effects of repeated exposures.

The US Government owes veterans with injuries from CBR weapons the best care possible, but did not provide it, nor did adequate caution be taken to ensure that exposure of humans to the EARL agents had been demonstrated to be safe through rigorous animal studies.

According to the VHI, in April 2003, the VA reviewed VA health care utilization by SHAD experimental subjects. However, there was no systematic follow-up prior to that date.

The VA and DOD failed to conduct any systematic follow-up of chemical weapons experiment subjects for decades.

The VHI document leaves the reader no doubt that chemical and biological weapons were used on US soldiers and that they caused long-term injuries.

Senate Committee report 103-97 (1994)

DOD has intentionally exposed military personnel to potentially dangerous substances, often in secret, and has repeatedly failed to comply with required ethical standards. DOD used investigational drugs in the Persian Gulf War in ways that were not effective, did not have proof that pyridostigmine bromide was safe for use, did not provide information and medical followup to those who participated in military research, and failed to support scientific studies.

The Federal Government has failed to support scientific studies that provide timely information for compensation decisions regarding military personnel who were harmed by various exposures.

IV. Recommendations

Congress should deny the DOD request for a blanket waiver to use investigational drugs in case of war or threat of war, mandate the FDA to reject applications without data on women, and require long-term followup data.

The report spans the time period of the Second World War to the first Gulf War.

The US Army’s LSD experiments took place in a context of extensive chemical and biological weapons testing, and inadequate consent was obtained.

US Army Medical Department report (1980)

The US Army conducted several follow-up studies on LSD from 1955 to 1967, but was unable to recruit matched controls from its large population of male soldiers.

In 1978, the US Army Health Services Command initiated a follow-up study of 741 individuals who received LSD from 1955 to 1967. However, only 220 subjects could actually be confirmed to have received LSD, and 117 were known to have received other chemical warfare agents.

24 subjects had died by the time of follow-up after receiving LSD, including 10 from heart disease, 4 from gunshot wounds, 1 known suicide, 1 suspected suicide, and 1 unknown.

The LSD testing was done from 1955 to 1967. The average age of the 320 subjects at follow-up was 45 years, and the death rate among healthy young soldiers over an 18-year follow-up was 7.1%.

Although there were 281 follow-up subjects known to have taken LSD, only 110 participated in the final follow-up in 1978-79.

The Halstead-Reitan test battery was administered to 172 LSD-exposed individuals. Of the 95 subjects who received the test, only 55% were found to be normal, which is a very low rate of normal findings in a group that was selected as being physically and psychologically healthy enough to participate in chemical weapons testing.

Seventy-six test subjects reported long-term adverse reactions from LSD exposure, including depression, flashbacks, anxiety, nightmares, paranoia, alcohol abuse, poly-drug abuse, episodic withdrawal, acute confusional state, seizure disorder, headache, tinnitus, a peculiar ‘fizzing noise’ and transient impotence.

This conclusion and this reassurance are refuted by the data in the report, which shows that 55 men had long-term side effects from LSD and three self-inflicted deaths.

Individual case descriptions of subjects in LSD experiments

Case #102 experienced a serious dissociative fugue episode and was unable to remember several complex activities. This hardly sounds like a healthy, high-functioning person with no serious psychiatric problems.

Case #128 sounds like a highly disturbed individual on a chronic basis who experienced a series of episodes after his initial LSD exposure and has since harbored a fear that he might discover further feelings of badness or worthlessness.

A patient was diagnosed with depressive neurosis and mixed personality disorder after mistaking his girl friend for another person.

Case #142 (p. 124): The subject experienced panic attacks during periods of stress and fatigue, and stated that he had lost a lot of stamina as a result of his participation in chemical warfare experiments.

The subject had multiple symptoms which he attributed to prior LSD exposure. He declined to participate in the follow-up examination out of fear of being used again for test of some sort.

The subject stated that his “nerves are shot” and that his “whole body shakes” and that he has gone through bankruptcy proceedings.

In 1969, the patient experienced a flashback, became depressed, had violent nightmares, and began experiencing auditory and visual hallucinations of a frightening nature. He was diagnosed with severe anxiety neurosis and was sent for further psychiatric evaluation.

A subject experienced marked lapses of memory for 3 days after the initial injection of LSD, and then experienced periodic episodes of depression. He contemplated suicide in 1961 and was taken to a hospital where he remained under psychiatric care for 1 week.

The patient reported developing a serious drinking problem subsequent to his LSD exposure, and experiencing considerable job instability.

The subject reported fear of having revealed secrets to outsiders, as well as becoming more intolerant and demanding toward his family, during the first year after participating in LSD testing.

A man participated in chemical warfare experiments in 1964 and experienced acute severe depression 3 years after LSD exposure. He walked into some nearby woods for 40 minutes and returned to his usual state of functioning.

After his LSD exposure in 1958, the subject underwent a personality change becoming much more aggressive. He had beaten every woman with whom he had been involved in a love relationship and had been involved in numerous barroom brawls.

The subject experienced flashbacks and periods of great loneliness and depression following LSD testing, which caused him to act in a financially irresponsible manner.

Within one year of LSD exposure, the subject experienced nervous fatigue and lost his job as a commercial artist.

The subject participated in Army chemical warfare experiments in 1958 and suffered a severe concussion in 1953. Ten years later, he again had a hallucination of a distorted soldier.

A man was court-martialed three times, received several medals, and was admitted to an alcohol rehabilitation center. He was diagnosed with a passive dependent/passive aggressive personality disorder and chronic alcoholism.

The subject gave a history of frequent use of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin, and was exposed to LSD in 1966. He developed a snake phobia and a change in personality following his exposure, and was suggested to enter an alcohol rehabilitation program.

A retired Army officer who received LSD in 1960 had a grand mal seizure and was advised not to attempt to have further children because of his exposure to LSD.

2 days after taking LSD, the subject had a couple of beers and became disorderly, waking up naked in a jail. He had occasional nightmares about going insane due to the drug.

The subject experienced feelings of intense isolation, followed by visual hallucinations and panic, one month after his discharge from the Army. He had numerous similar episodes, and was placed on thorazine, which resulted in sexual impotence.

The subject experienced acute paranoid state manifested by a self-limited psychotic episode one year following his LSD exposure in 1959. He experienced almost daily headaches for the first 6 months.

The subject stated that for one week following his LSD exposure he experienced a number of flashbacks and that he has recurrent “bad feelings” and great general concern over having been exposed to LSD.

After drinking alcohol the subject blacked out several times and shot another person in the leg. He was reduced in grade and charged with inefficiency.

A man participated in chemical warfare experiments in 1963 and experienced severe allergy problems, recurrent heartburn and indigestion, and a marked decrease in libido following discharge from the Army in 1965. He also became very afraid of dying and experienced numerous “flashback” episodes.

The subject stated that he became a polydrug abuser after his exposure to LSD while in the Army and that he experienced sexual impotence after three separate LSD exposures.

During his acute LSD intoxication, the subject became severely frightened of salt shakers and developed an unreasoning saltshaker phobia. He also developed feelings of panic and severe indecisiveness when required to make emotionally charged decisions.

A man was exposed to LSD in 1958 and claims to have undergone a personality change characterized by a general loss of interest in his work and episodes of unaccountable rage. He attributed his marital difficulties to his personality change.

The subject claimed to have experienced recurrent visual hallucinations, severe inability to concentrate, and severe fright since his exposure to chemical warfare agents. He also claimed to have required psychiatric hospitalization on several occasions.

Since his exposure to LSD 18 years ago, the subject has had recurrent episodes of paroxysmal headache, nausea, giddiness, and transient confusion, which are triggered by certain kinds of music, spoken phrases, and vague memories.

A subject participated in chemical warfare experiments in 1958 and has experienced recurrent episodes of jamais vu, intermittent confusion, nightmares, decreased ability to concentrate, temper outbursts, suspicious feelings and thoughts, and memory loss.

The subject was evaluated for chronic alcoholism, which had caused numerous serious secondary complications, including an organic brain syndrome, alcoholic peripheral neuropathy, cerebellar dysfunction, enlargement of the liver, and skin changes characteristic of chronic alcohol abuse.

The report describes veterans as comparable to a similar general population sample, but the case descriptions include vivid collections of complications of LSD exposure.

The National Research Council described screening procedures for the Edgewood experiments as adequate, but many soldiers were found to have personality disorders, which may have been caused or contributed to by the LSD.

Conclusion

The ethics, consent procedures, safeguards and complications of any ongoing chemical and biological weapons experimentation should be reviewed by organized medicine.