Psychedelics for Vets? CCHR Cites History of Exploitation and Failed Science

LOS ANGELES - Amzeal -- The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is warning Congress and the public that new legislation to legalize psychedelic drugs for U.S. veterans is a dangerous repeat of history—when defenders of the nation were used as test subjects in unethical psychiatric experiments.

A newly introduced federal law would expand funding to fast-track psychedelic treatments for veterans. Legislators say it's needed because one veteran suicide is too many.[1] CCHR agrees but says masking deep wounds with mind-altering drugs is a betrayal of those who served, and a review of the drugs shows many can induce suicide that veterans may not be informed of.

"This is not real help — the psychiatric-pharmaceutical industry will exploit our veterans as guinea pigs to prop up a $10 billion psychedelics business," the watchdog states.

Psychiatry's shameful history of drug experiments on troops is well-documented—yet often ignored. A December 2024 National Security Archive release revealed 1,200 once-secret records exposing the CIA's mind-control programs in the 1950s and 1960s, which used unwitting subjects to test hallucinogens like LSD.[2] The Federal Practitioner noted the project was "rife with violations of research ethics and human rights."[3]

Between 1955–1975, over 7,000 soldiers were exposed to more than 250 chemicals — including nerve agents like BZ and LSD[4]—in chemical warfare tests like Operation Delirium at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland. Researchers even developed BZ, a hallucinogen 100 times more powerful than LSD, to incapacitate enemy minds, but used U.S. soldiers to test it.[5]

The Conversation reported in April 2024: "The full range of mechanisms, safety risks, and long-term effects of psychedelics are not known. Conflicts of interest… can contribute to an overly optimistic opinion by researchers, the public, and policymakers. This may pose safety risks to the public if legislative changes that increase access are made prematurely, as witnessed with tobacco and opioid industries in the past."[6]

History shows what happens when psychiatric "wonder drugs" are marketed. The first SSRI antidepressant was sold in the 1980s and 90s on the claim that it corrected a "chemical imbalance." Pharmaceutical companies touted antidepressants as wonder drugs that could make the world a happier place. However, studies now confirm SSRIs can make patients agitated, violent or suicidal.[7]

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In 2022, Prof. Joanne Moncrieff and colleagues from the University of London's landmark study found "no evidence of a connection between reduced serotonin and depression," exposing the myth.

Evidence of Harm, Not Cure

Real-world studies show psychedelics can do more harm than good:

• A 2023 study in PLOS One found that one-third of users experienced severe anxiety, fear, social disconnection, depersonalization, and derealization. Transient visual distortions experienced after taking a psychedelic substance were reported by 40–60% of users. While largely referring to illicit uses of the drugs, the authors stated that the "variety of profoundly challenging experiences that can occur following the use of psychedelics" can also occur following use in guided settings.[8]
• Another 2023 study discussed how ~40% of participants in an earlier study on psilocybin experienced moderate to severe anxiety, panic, or distress.[9]
• In another 2023 study, 7 out of 15 participants described challenging derealization experiences subsequent to taking psychedelic drugs as: "having daily out-of-body-experiences," "reality felt thin or unstable," "[being] completely disconnected from the universe," and "…like, there was something wrong with my normal world."[10]
• Studies provide decades of evidence indicating that a "bad trip" can cause intense fear and panic, which sometimes lasts for weeks or months after taking the psychedelic drug. Serious anxiety issues can develop even years later.[11]
• The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology found ketamine linked to flashbacks, amnesia, delirium, and violence.[12]

Vice's "Killer High" series revealed multiple cases in just three years where LSD use was linked to sudden, brutal killings. The article "Killer High: Exploring the Phenomenon of LSD-Fueled Murder" highlighted how even seemingly ordinary, stable people turned homicidal while under the influence.[13]

"Veterans need real help addressing trauma, injuries, and reintegrating into civilian life," says Jan Eastgate, president of CCHR International. "They don't need mind-bending chemicals that risk harming them further—all while lining the psychiatric-pharmaceutical industry pockets."

CCHR, established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz, provides a Fact Sheet on Psychotropic Drugs Create Suicide, Failing Service Members & Veterans.

Sources:

[1] correa.house.gov/news/press-releases/correa-bergman-push-to-amend-military-veterans-funding-bill-prepare-va-for-administration-of-psychedelic-therapies;

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[2] National Security Archive, "CIA Mind Control Experiments Focus on New Scholarly Collection," nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/dnsa-intelligence/2024-12-23/cia-behavior-control-experiments-focus-new-scholarly

[3] Cynthia Geppert, "Psychedelics and the Military: What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been," Federal Practitioner, Oct. 2022, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9896363/

[4] Ben Hall, "U.S. soldiers used as 'human guinea pigs' in top-secret chemical testing program," News Channel 5, 11 Nov. 2021, www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/u-s-soldiers-used-as-human-guinea-pigs-in-top-secret-chemical-testing-program; David S. Martin, "Vets feel abandoned after secret drug experiments," CNN, 1 Mar. 2012, www.cnn.com/2012/03/01/health/human-test-subjects/index.html

[5] www.ranker.com/list/edgewood-arsenal-human-experiments/melissa-sartore;  "Dr. Harris Isbell's experiments," AHRP, 18 Jan. 2015, ahrp.org/dr-harris-isbells-experiments/; pages.uoregon.edu/munno/OregonCourses/REL253F12/REL253Notes/BZStory.htm

[6] "How corporate involvement in psychedelic research could threaten public safety," The Conversation, 22 Apr. 2024, theconversation.com/how-corporate-involvement-in-psychedelic-research-could-threaten-public-safety-226689

[7] James Kingsland, "The rise and fall of the wonder-drugs," New Scientist, 3 July 2004, web.archive.org/web/20210211031717/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18324545-300-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-wonder-drugs/

[8] Jules Evans, et al., "Extended difficulties following the use of psychedelic drugs: A mixed methods study," PLOS One, 24 Oct. 2023, journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293349

[9] "Case analysis of long-term negative psychological responses to psychedelics," Open Access, 25 Sept. 2023, Bremler, R., Katati, N., Shergill, P., et al., "Case analysis of long-term negative psychological responses to psychedelics," Scientific Reports, 13, 15998 (2023), doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41145-x

[10] Bremler, R., Katati, N., Shergill, P. et al. Case analysis of long-term negative psychological responses to psychedelics. Sci Rep 13, 15998 (2023), www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-41145-x

[11] "LSD Toxicity Treatment & Management: Approach Considerations, Prehospital and Emergency Department Care, Inpatient Care," Background, Pathophysiology, Etiology, 3 May 2017; "Treatment with psychedelics is psychotherapy: beyond reductionism," The Lancet Psychiatry, published online December 12, 2023, citing Calder, A.E. and Hasler, G., "Towards an understanding of psychedelic-induced neuroplasticity," Neuropsychopharmacology 2023, 48: 104-12

[12] Sang Yep Shin, et al., "Chronic administration of ketamine ameliorates the anxiety- and aggressive-like behavior in adolescent mice induced by neonatal maternal separation," Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology, Jan 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6315094/

[13] Gavin Butler, "Killer High: Exploring the Phenomenon of LSD-Fueled Murder," VICE, 25 Oct. 2020, www.vice.com/en/article/acid-lsd-fuelled-murder-homicide/; www.vice.com/en/article/prescribed-ketamine-turned-these-men-violent-allege-lawsuits/