Subproject 22 was a subproject of Project MKULTRA

Project MKULTRA

Project MKULTRA, or MK-ULTRA, was the code name for a covert, illegal CIA human experimentation program, run by the CIA's Office of Scientific Intelligence. This official U.S. government program began in the early 1950s, continued at least through the late 1960s, and used U.S...

 in which the CIA tested the effects of a plant known as Rivea corymbosa

Rivea corymbosa

Turbina corymbosa Turbina corymbosa Turbina corymbosa ((syn. Rivea corymbosa), the Christmas vine, is a species of morning glory, native throughout Latin America from Mexico in the North to Peru in the South and widely naturalised elsewhere. It is a perennial climbing vine with white flowers, often...

, a morning glory

Morning glory

Morning glory is a common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics is in flux...

 species containing the chemical LSA

Ergine

Ergine, also known as d-lysergic acid amide , d-lysergamide, and LA-111, is an alkaloid of the ergoline family that occurs in various species of vines of the Convolvulaceae and some species of fungi...

 that has effects similar to those of LSD

LSD

Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...

.

Purpose

CIA papers involving this subject stated that the purpose of this project was to secure funding in order to carry out experiments studying the characteristics of the plant known as Rivea corymbosa.

Budget

One record of the project states that the Geschickter Fund for Medical Research would serve as a cutout

Cut-out (espionage)

In espionage parlance, a cutout is a mutually trusted intermediary, method or channel of communication, facilitating the exchange of information between agents. Cutouts usually only know the source and destination of the information to be transmitted, but are unaware of the identities of any other...

for the transfer of funds to the investigator. The same document contained an outlined budget.

• Equipment Costs $1000
• Analyses and Tests $350
• Travel Expenses $500
• Salaries $4000
• Miscellaneous $100

Total: $5950.00

Discoveries

The work with the seeds of the plant Rivea corymbosa indicated to the researchers that, even though all seeds in question had been called Rivea corymbosa, there were differences between seeds depending on their country of origin. One variety came from Cuba. It was smaller, and it did not have the same psychological effects. The Mexican variety was larger, however, and had more profound effects.