Psychedelic Warfare of the Future (1960)

Remember the groovy sixties? It was the time when psychedelic and mind-altering drugs became the craze in the hippie and junkie communi...

Remember the groovy sixties? It was the time when psychedelic and mind-altering drugs became the craze in the hippie and junkie community. In the United States, there were research being made to find out the military applications of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), mescaline (peyote), and psilocybin (psychedelic mushrooms) as non-lethal weapons of the future. In fact, they have even considered using these drugs to sprayed on an unsuspecting enemy or the general population thereby making them vulnerable to invasion.

Imagine a war where the invading army sprays these mind-altering drugs thereby inducing the general population into a frenzy while their city is being destroyed. It looks like a strategy from the Joker in the classic Batman TV series.

During the Cold War, there was an ever present danger wherein the Soviets will use chemical warfare on the American population. It was the case of who will do it first. In a story on the September 6, 1959 issue of the "Cedar Rapids Gazette," it warned that the nuclear stalemate with the USSR might do the unthinkable before the US can.

According to a 1981 children's book "World of Tomorrow: War and Weapons" by Neil Ardley, a Soviet psycho-chemical attack will immobilize American defenses as soldiers will think that they're being hunted by giant flying pterodactyl-like creatures.