Burning Question: Did the CIA spike a town's bread with LSD?

The residents of the village of Pont-Saint-Esprit, in southeast France, still call it le pain maudit, or "cursed bread." In 1951, hundreds of people suddenly fell victim to insanity and hallucinations. Five of them died, and dozens more were institutionalized.

For many years, the Telegraph reports, villagers assumed the incident was the result of accidental mold contamination of the flour used at a local bakery.

Now, though, H.P. Albarelli Jr., an investigative reporter, claims that his research into the death of a scientist working at the Army's Special Operations Division at Fort Detrick, Md., has uncovered evidence of a very different explanation for the incident. Two former colleagues of the scientist told Albarelli it was the result of a CIA-Army mind-control experiment that involved spiking the bread with LSD.

French bread spiked with LSD in CIA experiment
(Telegraph. Hat tip: BoingBoing)

Burning Question is a recurring feature that looks at key issues and compelling stories being explored at other publications and social media sites covering the federal government.