Sixty-four California prisoners were paralyzed with succinylcholine, a neuromuscular agent that restricts breathing. Succinylcholine has since been used in lethal injection protocols. When five prisoners in the California experiment refused to participate as subjects in the experiment, researchers were given “permission” to inject the recalcitrant prisoners against their will. (Harriet Washington, Baltimore Sun, 1995) By 1969, 85% of new drug research in the US was conducted on prisoners. (Acres of Skin)
December 28