LETTER TO NIMH ADDICTION RESEARCH CENTER RE LSD-25 EXPERIMENTS

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00153388
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: January 21, 2025
• Document Release Date: January 15, 1983
• Publication Date: August 3, 1953

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NIA.+UAddiction Research Center
FEDERAL SECURITY AGENCY
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
LEXINGTON. KENTUCKY
3 August 1953
I feel sure you will be interested to learn that we were
able to begin'our experiments: with LSD-25 during the month
of July. We -obtained 5 subjects who Agreed to take the drug
chronically. All of these were negro male patients and all
of them physically were in very excellent shape. The time
so far has been spent exclusively in obtaining control data
which includes physical and-psychiatric examinations, Rorschach
and Goldatein.Scherer tests, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventories, electroencephalograms, steadiness test, blood
chemistries and hamatology. We should be in position to
begin exploratory ,stodies designecito determine the minimal
effective dose for each man eirlY IA August.
Arrangement f have been made with the. Sandoz Company to obtain
a supply of the drug.
The behavior of the patients in our ward has been disappoint-
.
ingly quiet. All five of the men have been extremely quiet,
agreeable and polite with each other, the psychiatric aides
and the doctors. They definitely-are more-reserved than. we
expected and we have a distinct feeling that they. are somewhat
afraid, most especially of the physicians: involved. We have
made a strenuous ,effort to break through this barrier.buf'
havit-succf.eded.onlypartially-.. -The-relationship with the
psychiatric aides, who actualty will be the key observers,
Is becoming somewhat more free and easy, but the-degree of
rapport attained so far Is not nearly- so great as we expect
with white subjects. Reserve and lack of rapport with the
physicians are as great as initially. . In all probability,
this type of .behavior is to. be expected with patients of
this type. Perhaps the drug will break down some of the
barriers.
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I have also heard that 'the "Alcometer" has been repaired
and is being shipped. If no particular difficulties are
experienced in the LSD experiment, this wilt enable us to.
begin preliminary work with alcohol some time during the
fall.
Experiments with I�N�allylnor Dromoran and the 3�methyl
ether of N�allyinor Dromoran are not encouraging. Both
compounds produce definite-subjective effects when given
orally. The margin however" appears to be quite small.
Total doses of 7.5 mg: oraLly seldom cause any perceptible
effects. Doses of 10 mg. orally almost invariably do, but
concomitantly, disturbing toxic effects, chiefly of vasovagal
types tmarked. perspiration, dizziness on standing, weakness
and drop in blood pressure) are observed, and these toxic
effects definitely interfere with the elicitation of
"depressed" material from the patients.
Very sinc,erely yours,
_
Harris Isbell, M.D.
Director of Research
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