In early February 1977 the Central Intelligence Agency acknowledged that, during the Cold War, it had conducted experiments involving lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on civilians without their informed consent. These admissions followed years of investigative reporting, Congressional scrutiny and civil litigation that had gradually exposed the scope of covert research programs carried out in the 1950s and 1960s. The programs most commonly associated with these practices were part of the broader MKUltra umbrella, a CIA project initiated in the early 1950s that sought to explore methods for interrogation, behavior modification and chemical incapacitation. MKUltra encompassed dozens of subprojects funded through front organizations and university contracts, involving experiments with drugs, hypnosis, sensory deprivation and other techniques. While some research subjects were volunteers who consented to study conditions, government records, witness testimony and court settlements revealed that many others — including patients in psychiatric hospitals, prisoners, and members of the general public — were given psychoactive substances such as LSD without clear, informed consent. The 1977 acknowledgment did not appear in a single dramatic press release but emerged amid a broader process of document disclosures and legal settlements. Throughout the 1970s, congressional investigations — most notably the 1975-76 Senate Church Committee and a House subcommittee led by Representative Otis Pike — uncovered evidence of CIA and Defense Department misconduct. Those investigations prompted policy changes, directives to regulate human experimentation, and increased public awareness. In subsequent years, survivors and families pursued lawsuits; some resulted in settlements and declassified records, while others were limited by classification, destroyed files, or legal barriers. Key facts that historians agree upon include: the CIA funded research into LSD and other psychoactive agents; experimentation took place in clinical and nonclinical settings; some subjects were not fully informed about the nature or risks of the substances administered; and the agency employed intermediaries to conceal its involvement. Disputed or unresolved issues include the full scale of experiments, the number of unwitting subjects, and the long-term health effects for many participants. Complicating historical reconstruction were destroyed files — the agency has admitted to having destroyed some MKUltra records in 1973 — and the passage of time, which scattered testimony and documentation. The ethical and legal fallout was significant. The revelations contributed to new regulations governing government-sponsored human experimentation and strengthened oversight mechanisms. They also fueled public debate over the balance between national security imperatives and individual rights, and they remain a reference point in discussions about transparency, accountability and informed consent in government research. By acknowledging experiments involving LSD on civilians, the CIA compelled lawmakers, scholars and the public to confront uncomfortable truths about Cold War-era intelligence practices. While many details have been clarified through declassification and litigation, historians caution that a complete accounting remains elusive because of incomplete records and competing accounts. The 1977 acknowledgments therefore represent both an important step toward transparency and a reminder of the limits of institutional memory in reconstructing covert programs.