Tripped

Tripped links Nazi drug research to US drug policy. Norman Ohler traces LSD from health studies to secret state tests. He argues that mind control efforts helped stall studies of its use to heal. This is a work of history, not fiction. It is for readers drawn to drugs and politics. It also covers Cold War spy work.

The book starts in Berlin in 1945, as drug use spreads. Four Allied powers each rule a part of the city. Each has its own rules on drugs. US drug official Arthur J. Giuliani studies Nazi laws. He seeks lessons the US might use. Five years later, Henry Beecher helps the US government find Nazi research. It dealt with psychedelics, drugs that change how people sense and think. Ohler traces tests with mescaline and LSD. These tests sought to force truth and control minds.

The book traces LSD's roots in medicine at Sandoz, a Swiss firm. It links Nazi tests to the CIA's later MKUltra program. That program used brainwashing and torture of the mind. This took place in the 1950s and 1960s. Ohler shows how these efforts shaped US policy for decades. He also looks at ties among rival states, spy services, and drug firms.

Ohler uses records from archives in Europe and North America. This book follows his earlier work, Blitzed. It also looks at today's new interest in psychedelic research. Ohler calls for changes to drug laws and more study. He wants science to guide policy, not beliefs passed down. His account asks how state control affects each person's freedom.