The most powerful and mind altering psycadelic ever created is a little known compound developed by the US Government in the mid 60's as a possible chemical agend for use in warfare. The agent BZ, was created by the Army Chemical Corps in response to the CIA's investigation into LSD as a chemical weapon. here is an excerpt taken from
http://www.historyhouse.com/in_history/lsd/:
Anyway, not to be outdone by the CIA, the Army Chemical Corps later came up with quinuclidinyl benzilate, or BZ, coined a super-hallucinogen. It affected individuals for three days, "although symptoms - headaches, giddiness, disorientation, auditory and visual hallucinations, and maniacal behavior - have been known to persist for as long as six weeks." Yipes!
Dr. Van Sim, chief of the Clinical Research Division, tried all new chemicals himself before subjecting volunteers to them. "Did he enjoy getting high, or were his acid trips simply a patriotic duty?" ask Lee and Shlain. Sim, who had tried acid on "several" occasions, reported, "It's not a matter of compulsiveness or wanting to be the first to try a material." He later described his first experience with BZ: "It zonked me for three days. I kept falling down and the people at the lab assigned someone to follow me around with a mattress." He later received the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, cited for "exposing himself to dangerous drugs 'at the risk of grave personal injury.'" Talk about lying down on the job....
Some 2800 soldiers were subsequently exposed to BZ, most of them knowingly. Air Force enlisted man Robert Bowen noted one paratrooper temporarily lost all muscle control and later seemed mad: "The last time I saw him he was taking a shower in his uniform and smoking a cigar." We find that an acceptable alternative to a nuclear arsenal around here, but feel it might behoove the Government to stop abusing its own army and direct its efforts exclusively to those, say, in middle management positions.
