War, On Drugs: The Military’s Complicated Relationship With Narcotics

Just think of them as the secret weapons -- or handicaps -- of soldiers around the world: booze, weed, ecstasy, heroin and a handful of other illicit pills, plants and elixirs. Because whether top brass want to admit it or not, the storied history of global warfare would be way less interesting without them.
From some boozy bonding in the barracks or a few uppers to stay alert on an aerial mission, to scoring psychedelics that pass a urine test or experimenting with rave drugs to alleviate trauma, controlled substances are, for better or for worse, surprisingly ubiquitous in military circles.
So whatever your vice of choice, light it, pop it or drink it, and then indulge in a little war -- on drugs.

Despite all the illicit substances that surround soldiers, it's arguably the meds prescribed by the military's own doctors that have done the most damage in this decade's wars.
The use of psychiatric medications by troops and their spouses soared 42 percent between 2005 and 2009, while anti-anxiety pill prescription rose a startling 72 percent. And thousands of soldiers are sanctioned to pop a cocktail of pills, despite deathly serious side effects: Accidental fatalities due to multi-drug usage has nearly tripled since 2001.
Photo: U.S. Navy SEALS Blog

MORE