LSD's history shaped by Nazi experiments and CIA mind control efforts

LSD, discovered in 1938 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, has a complex history involving Nazi Germany and the CIA. Initially explored for its potential as a truth serum, the Nazis conducted experiments using LSD at concentration camps, including Dachau. After World War II, the CIA continued these experiments under Project MK-Ultra, testing LSD on unwitting subjects during the Cold War. The agency sought to develop mind control techniques, but ultimately failed to create effective pharmacological weapons. By the 1960s, LSD became popular in American counterculture, leading to its criminalization as the government sought to control its use. Recently, there has been renewed interest in LSD for medical research, with some countries beginning to explore its therapeutic potential.