FEDS ADMIT FAULT IN GIVING LSD TO INMATE

OTTAWA - The federal government and a former prison psychologist have
confessed to battery and negligence for giving LSD to a teenage inmate 40
years ago.

The admission by the government and psychologist Mark Eveson in Ontario's
Superior Court of Justice is a victory for former prisoner Dorothy Proctor.

LSD was administered to 23 prisoners as part of a 1961 study at the federal
Prison for Women in Kingston. The prison is now closed.

In 1998, Proctor sued the government and former officials of the
Correctional Service of Canada for giving her the drug, saying it has
caused brain damage and hallucinations.

Proctor was 18 and serving a three-year robbery sentence when she received
at least one dose of the hallucinogen.

The government says LSD was given to female prisoners with the aim of
"promoting the health of individuals," not for experimental reasons.

However, the government concedes there is no record of Proctor having
consented to receive the drug.

The lawsuit began a protracted court fight over the nature of the LSD tests
and the ethics of using prisoners in the drug program.

On April 30, the government and Eveson admitted to assault and negligence,
declarations that were accepted by the court in May.

Proctor is suing for $5 million, though the court has not yet addressed the
issue of damages.