Project CHATTER, Military research program in Bethesda, United States
Project CHATTER was a United States Navy program that tested substances like anabasine, scopolamine, and mescaline on humans and animals between 1947 and 1953. The experiments took place at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda and focused on studying drug effects in laboratory settings.
The project launched in 1947 under the direction of Charles Savage and ended in 1953, when it merged with the MKULTRA program. This merger marked a shift toward a new phase of government drug research under military oversight.
The program emerged from Cold War competition between the United States and Soviet Union, with a focus on developing intelligence-gathering methods. This direction reflected fears of falling behind in technology or strategy during that tense era.
Information about this project is stored in United States Navy archives and can be accessed through declassified government records. For researchers and historians, databases containing declassified documents offer the best way to explore these materials.
The program pioneered the first administration of LSD to human subjects within an official government research initiative. This early application made it a critical turning point in the history of drug research and its ethical boundaries.
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