Science

That's... Not even a good cover story lol. Research really doesn't need that much of a target material, and the costs of actually doing said research far outweighs the cost of reagents or supplies in all but the most exotic, bleeding edge materials known to man.

For the science of profit while fucking up people yes. Thought the oppium wars would have teached something to the communists, instead they like showing off how big a cigar they can suck.

You know, like with MKULTRA. For science. Best combined with sitting "in an adjoining apartment sitting on a portable toilet, drinking pitchers of martinis while watching people having sex under the influence of ~~LSD~~ cocaine".