New CIA Documents Expose the Dark Legacy of Mind Control Experiments

The National Security Archive, in collaboration with ProQuest (part of Clarivate), has unveiled a new and highly significant scholarly collection detailing the CIA’s notorious MKULTRA program, one of the most controversial and secretive projects in U.S. intelligence history. The new collection, CIA and the Behavioral Sciences: Mind Control, Drug Experiments and MKULTRA, compiles over 1,200 key records spanning decades of the CIA’s experimentation with mind control, behavioral manipulation, and drugs — including LSD — on unwitting subjects, many of whom were American citizens.

This release marks an important milestone, coming 50 years after Seymour Hersh’s groundbreaking 1974 exposé in The New York Times that revealed MKULTRA’s existence, prompting investigations and public outrage. The new records also coincide with the 70th anniversary of the CIA’s partnership with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, which developed methods to mass-produce LSD, becoming the Agency’s primary supplier of the powerful psychoactive drug.

A Dark History of Mind Control Research

The MKULTRA program, originally launched in the early 1950s, operated under various code names such as BLUEBIRD, ARTICHOKE, and MKULTRA itself. These programs were designed to develop methods of mind control and behavior modification, largely in the context of interrogation and covert operations. The CIA explored a range of experimental techniques, from drug use and hypnosis to sensory deprivation and extreme isolation, often without the knowledge or consent of those involved.

Among the newly available documents are several startling revelations, including:

• A 1950 DCI-Approved Plan to establish “interrogation teams” using polygraphs, drugs, and hypnosis to enhance interrogation results (Document 2).
• A 1951 Memo discussing CIA meetings with foreign intelligence agencies on mind control research, highlighting a shared interest in controlling individual minds (Document 3).
• A 1952 Report detailing successful ARTICHOKE interrogation methods involving drugs and hypnosis to induce amnesia and regression (Document 6).
• A 1956 Memo in which MKULTRA chief Sidney Gottlieb signs off on experiments using large doses of LSD on federal prisoners in Atlanta (Document 13).

These documents provide an unprecedented look into the breadth and depth of the CIA’s pursuit of mind control, illustrating the extent to which the agency sought to manipulate human psychology, often at the expense of the well-being of its subjects.

The Role of Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA’s Behavioral Sciences Division

At the heart of the MKULTRA program was Sidney Gottlieb, the CIA’s chief of the Technical Services Staff (TSS). Known as the “CIA’s chief poison maker,” Gottlieb played a central role in orchestrating experiments designed to alter and control human behavior, from dosing individuals with LSD to experimenting with poisons and hypnosis. Under his leadership, the TSS became a powerful and secretive arm of the CIA, responsible for some of the most disturbing operations in the agency’s history.

Gottlieb’s involvement in MKULTRA is documented through his 1983 deposition testimony in a civil case brought by Velma Orlikow, a victim of CIA-sponsored experiments conducted by Dr. Ewen Cameron at the Allan Memorial Institute in Montreal (Document 20). The deposition is a rare firsthand account of the program, offering insight into the lack of oversight, accountability, and the ethical lapses that marked the CIA’s behavioral experiments.

The Hidden Cost of MKULTRA

Perhaps the most unsettling aspect of MKULTRA was its total disregard for human rights. The CIA conducted experiments on vulnerable populations, including prisoners, hospital patients, and even juvenile detainees, often without their knowledge or consent. The agency’s experiments caused long-lasting psychological harm, and in some cases, the damage was irreversible.

One of the most tragic incidents linked to MKULTRA was the 1953 death of Frank Olson, an Army chemist who died after falling from a hotel window in New York. Olson had been surreptitiously dosed with LSD during a CIA retreat at Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. While Olson’s death was officially ruled a suicide, many—including his family—have long disputed the official account, suggesting that the drugging played a key role in his death.

Additionally, many MKULTRA subjects were recruited by CIA operatives posing as medical professionals or researchers. One notorious example was George White, a federal narcotics agent who ran a CIA safehouse in San Francisco where LSD and other drugs were tested on unsuspecting victims. White adopted the persona of an artist named “Morgan Hall” to lure individuals into his apartment, where they were dosed with LSD without their consent. Gottlieb and other CIA officials frequently visited White’s safehouse, which was a hub for experimentation on human subjects.

Global Legacy and Continued Impact

While the MKULTRA program was officially terminated in the 1970s, its legacy continues to haunt intelligence agencies and the global intelligence community. As historian Stephen Kinzer notes, the techniques developed during MKULTRA significantly influenced later CIA interrogation methods, particularly in the context of the Vietnam War, Latin American military dictatorships, and the so-called “War on Terror.” The methods that emerged from MKULTRA were integrated into the CIA’s 1963 KUBARK interrogation manual, which became the basis for controversial interrogation techniques used in Guantanamo Bay and secret prisons around the world.

The revelations in this newly released collection contribute to our understanding of how institutionalized abuse and unethical practices became embedded in the culture of intelligence operations. These documents also highlight the dark side of the behavioral sciences during the mid-20th century, showing how respected doctors, psychologists, and researchers were complicit in unethical research that mirrored the torturous experiments of Nazi-era medical professionals.

The Search for Accountability

The National Security Archive’s new collection draws on decades of research, much of it from the work of John Marks, the former State Department official whose 1979 book, The Search for the “Manchurian Candidate”, brought the horrors of MKULTRA to light. Marks’ FOIA requests and subsequent research materials, which he later donated to the Archive, form a significant part of the records now made available to the public.

Despite the CIA’s best efforts to destroy most of the MKULTRA records in 1973 — a purge orchestrated by CIA Director Richard Helms — a wealth of documentation remains, providing a detailed and chilling narrative of the agency’s pursuit of mind control. The surviving records present a stark contrast to the official narrative of MKULTRA’s closure, revealing the systemic abuse and lack of accountability that underpinned the program.

The newly published documents provide crucial insights not only into the history of the CIA’s MKULTRA program but also into the broader role of intelligence agencies in shaping global interrogation practices. As the United States continues to reckon with its past, these revelations serve as a stark reminder of the importance of transparency, accountability, and the protection of human rights in intelligence operations.