How Speed, LSD, and MK Ultra Gave Birth to the Chemical Imbalance Theory
Was the chemical imbalance theory a scientific discovery, or did it grow out of MK Ultra-era drug experiments?
Philosopher Justin Garson, author of The Madness Pill, traces the history of psychiatry from LSD in 1960s San Francisco to the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia, and how it paved the way for every “chemical imbalance” theory that followed. In 1973, Justin’s father was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He recovered through drug-free talk therapy and went back to work. Twelve years later, no psychiatrist would treat him without drugs, and he never recovered. Justin set out to…
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