A recent article from Hoodline.com has uncovered the history of a luxurious property situated at 225 Chestnut Street in San Francisco. It reveals its association with a CIA operation called Operation Midnight Climax, which was part of a larger project known as MK-ULTRA carried out during the Cold War era.
Between 1955 and 1965 this property served as a venue for mind control experiments conducted by the CIA. Agents would entice individuals from local bars administer them with LSD and observe their reactions while hidden behind a two way mirror. The objective of this operation was to discover a substance for controlling minds to be used against adversaries.
It was led by chemist Sidney Gottlieb, who strongly believed in the potential of mind control as a form of warfare. His interest in this subject dated back to World War II when he initially focused on creating a “truth drug” to extract information from subjects. When LSD was synthesized by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann in 1943, Gottlieb recognized its potential for mind control purposes.
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Under Gottliebs guidance the MK-ULTRA program carried out experiments at locations such as universities, research facilities and prisons not only within the United States but also, in Japan, Germany and the Philippines. These experiments often involved torment ranging from high doses of LSD to electroshock techniques.
The secret operation that took place at 225 Chestnut St., known as “Operation Midnight Climax” gradually escalated over time. Agents would administer LSD to individuals in spaces and later used prostitutes to attract subjects from diverse backgrounds. George White, an OSS captain and narcotics agent was in charge of these operations.
Now estimated to be worth $14.4 million, the dark past of a San Francisco property at 225 Chestnut Street was once one of the locations where the CIA conducted covert LSD experiments in the 1950s.https://t.co/Oa85X1CY3c
— Hoodline (@Hoodline) October 24, 2023
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According to the article, the CIAs inspector general eventually discovered the unethical nature of this operation. As a result, these safe houses were shut down in 1963. However, due to the destruction of most MK-ULTRA records it is challenging to determine the full extent of the harm caused by these actions.
The MK-ULTRA program has been associated with well known individuals such as mob boss Whitey Bulger, writer Ken Kesey and there have been claims of connections to others like Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and Charles Manson. However, official links are often unclear
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