CIA paid prostitutes to drug Americans after they lured them in with the promise of sex

By Andy Wolf

It’s no secret that the Central Intelligence Agency is the home of dirty tricks, espionage, and questionable activities to achieve dubious means. From declassified documents outlining their clandestine deeds to being caught in the act, the CIA is the embodiment of the phrase “Exitus Acta Probat” [the ends justify the deed].

But one persistent CIA experiment continues to live on rent-free in the minds of many: MK-Ultra.

Known as the CIA’s “mind control” experiment, MK-Ultra was a series of trials to determine whether or not behavior could be modified -or outright taken over in order to carry out certain acts.

From the Kennedy assassination to the unexplained motives behind mass shooters in an attempt to push gun control, MK-Ultra frequently comes up in memes, conversation, and message boards as a suggestion to that which cannot be explained, and are often dismissed on the surface by many as “conspiracy theories.”

However, while there is no definitive proof that such theories are valid— there’s no proof that they aren’t, either.

Despite the low-hanging fruit that such a topic could provide, this article is a condensed history of the program itself, and not insinuating any of the above.

The birth of MK-Ultra came after the Korean War when fears were drummed up that American Prisoners of War had been “brainwashed” by communist forces while in captivity.

Despite the depraved nature of such a topic, that didn’t stop the CIA from looking into the possibilities of whether or not such a thing could be done.

From volunteers to unwitting subjects, the program had no shortage of human lab rats to play with.

However, the program wasn’t necessarily all about mind control: often, the experiments were attempts to force confessions and to break down the mind.

From 1953 to 1973, the program ran in cooperation with the United States Army. In order to conceal their involvement from the general public, the Central Intelligence Agency frequently set up front organizations and enlisted the help of prisons, psychiatric wards, universities, pharmaceutical companies, and more.

One of the better known experiments includes giving LSD to a variety of people, ranging from military personnel and the mentally retarded to prostitutes and prisoners, in hopes of being able to coax information and/or alter behavior.

The LSD and other drugs were often administered to subjects sans knowledge or consent, which was a clear and glaring violation of the Nuremberg Code, a post-World War II agreement that the United States had promised to follow.

In one experiment, also known as Operation Midnight Climax, the CIA set up a series of brothels in San Francisco, putting cameras behind two-way mirrors. The unwitting Johns were given LSD by prostitutes and their reactions were filmed for study.

Several high-profile individuals had been subject to or are believed to have been subjects of MK-Ultra, including mobster James “Whitey” Bugler, Unabomber Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, cult leaders Jim Jones and Charles Manson, and accused assassin Sirhan Sirhan.

In 1973, the program was officially ordered to cease, and a large number of records were destroyed— an act that hampered a formal investigation into the program.

In 1975, the program was revealed to the public and two years later, a cache of intact documentation related to the program was obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.

Further documentation was declassified in 2001, and the program remains a controversial subject to this day— particularly among those who believe the findings were used to influence other activities.

While the truth of MK-Ultra’s scope may never be fully revealed or understood, at least a few things are certain: LSD is one hell of a drug, the human mind is fragile, and the CIA will do what the CIA does— whatever it wants, whenever and whenever it can.

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