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  • Essay / The CIA's covert operation known as Project MKUltra

    The CIA's covert operation known as Project MKUltra inadvertently transformed the use of LSD from a highly classified method of mind control into a massively popular drug that, in part, defined the counterculture. movement of the 1960s. While the CIA did not intend to provide the American public with the most powerful hallucinogen known at the time, its misguided mission to create a foolproof truth drug created a suite of LSD and transformed it into a prominent entheogen. At that time, issues such as the threat of an apocalyptic war with the USSR, the horrific reports of the Vietnam War, or the struggle for civil rights invaded the minds of many disillusioned young Americans who were then seeking to escape from their harsh reality. When they discovered a new legal psychedelic drug (until 1968) thanks to public defenders like Ken Kesey or Timothy Leary, a massive demand was created, with an estimated 2,000,000 individuals admitting to trying it at the time. late 1970s. In the early 1950s, Before the MKUltra project, the foundations for underhanded scientific research were being laid. Immediately after World War II, the United States Office of Strategic Services – the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency – launched Operation Paperclip, a mission to prevent the Soviet Union from obtaining scientific research or expertise. Germans in times of war, while exploiting these sources of information. to directly benefit American programs. More than 700 German scientists were recruited by the United States, either voluntarily or forcibly. These scientists were employed in various government programs depending on the focus of their research, but the OSS was particularly interested in men who had engaged in brainwashing and other controversial interrogations. 'article ......presence of In the United States, LSD was completely unaffiliated with the government. There is clear evidence that thanks to MKUltra's experiments, the drug was propelled from a niche market to a national, and even global, stage. In addition to the many subjects of drug testing, thousands of people were exposed to LSD when they read Leary's published works and attended his public lectures, participated in Kesey's Acid Tests and listened to his recommendations, attended the concerts by Robert Hunters and witnessed the scale of the trials. work done by many others – all influenced by MKUltra in one way or another. Ultimately, changes in its use gave the emergence of LSD a sense of irony that truly reflected the times: instead of becoming the government's secret chemical weapon, LSD became a sacrament that shaped an entire generation, embodying the counterculture belief that “make love, not war.”