Image of Navy ship USS Halsey Powell
Image of Navy ship USS Halsey Powell
Project CHATTER
Influenced by Dachau mescaline experiments in Germany, the United States Navy began testing various drugs for effectiveness in interrogations and the recruitment of agents in the fall of 1947. Knowing that these experiments would cause harm, both mentally ill and mentally healthy military patients were used in the testing of mescaline (which was unsuccessful) and LSD.
Experiments started at the Naval Institute in Bethesda, Maryland and continued until 1953, shortly after the Korean War. LSD was found to have no specific therapeutic advantage in depression but the hallucinations it caused were thought to possibly be useful in psychotherapy. Nevertheless, Project CHATTER was one of several unethical government drug experimentations conducted to advance the United States military.
Further projects such as MK Ultra were developed after Project CHATTER despite the harm to those in the experiment. Test subjects were no better at the end of experimentation and, often, worse than before as psychotic breaks and worsening mental illness was common.
Sources:
Alliance for Human Research Protection, https://ahrp.org/1947-1953-navys-project-chatter-tested-drugs-for-interrogation/.
“Project Chatter – US Navy LSD Experiments on Mental Patients - Shroomery News Service -
Marino, Vince, et al. “Life on a Fletcher Class Destroyer in the 1950's.” Naval Historical Foundation, 31 July 2013, http://www.navyhistory.org/2013/07/life-on-a-fletcher-class-destroyer-1950s/.
Streeton, Jack. “Unethical Human Experimentation in the United States – Psychological and Torture Experiments.” Specialist Practice (Year 3), 24 Oct. 2014, https://jackstreetonsp.wordpress.com/2014/10/24/unethical-human-experimentation-in-the-united-states-psychological-and-torture-experiments/.