G.I.s’ Drug Use in Vietnam Soared—With Their Commanders’ Help (2024)
Armed servicemen of the Vietnam War used drugs more heavily than any previous generation of enlisted U.S. troops. From heroin to amphetamines to marijuana, drugs were so commonplace among the troops that, in 1970, liaison to the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Egil Krogh told President Richard Nixon “you don’t have a drug problem in Vietnam; you have a condition. Problems are things we can get right on and solve.”
What drugs did soldiers use in the Vietnam War?
According to a 1971 report by the Department of Defense, 51 percent of the armed forces had smoked marijuana, 31 percent had used psychedelics, such as LSD, mescaline and psilocybin mushrooms, and an additional 28 percent had taken hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin. But drug usage wasn’t just limited by what enlistees could illicitly buy on the black market. Their military command also heavily prescribed pills to the troops under the auspices of improving performance.
According to a report by the House Select Committee on Crime, the armed forces used 225 million tablets of stimulants between 1966 and 1969. In addition to those amphetamines, which were used to boost endurance on long missions, sedatives were prescribed to help relieve anxiety and prevent mental breakdowns. It seemingly worked. In Vietnam, the rate of mental breakdowns in soldiers was 1 percent, a massive reduction from the Second World War (10 percent).
In his book Shooting Up: A Short History of Drugs and War, Lukasz Kamienski argues that amphetamine withdrawal may be partly to blame for some of the atrocities committed against Vietnam’s civilian population, with strung-out young servicemen overreacting to the already stressful conditions of war.
Still, it was the use of illegal drugs—notably heroin and marijuana—that commanded the most media attention during the conflict.
Why were marijuana and heroin so common in Vietnam?
According to Jeremy Kuzmarov, author of The Myth of the Addicted Army: Vietnam and the Modern War on Drugs and an American history professor at the University of Tulsa, there were multiple reasons for widespread drug use in Vietnam: It was “in part because we had the counterculture [stateside], in part because of the ready supply of the drugs, and in part because of the breakdown in morale in the Army, where a rebellion took root.”
Marijuana’s widespread usage came first, with soldiers easily securing the psychotropic substance in villages, where a carton’s worth might sell for five dollars, or else be bartered for with packs of cigarettes. At first marijuana was tolerated by military command. That changed when John Steinbeck IV, a Vietnam soldier and son of the Nobel-prize winning author, wrote an article for Washingtonian magazine in January 1968 about the common use of marijuana among the troops, setting off a media firestorm. In response to the scrutiny, the Army began clamping down on marijuana usage, arresting roughly 1000 G.I.s per week for marijuana possession, while also searching out and destroying marijuana-growing fields with the help of South Vietnamese troops.
The unintended consequence: many G.I.s shifted their drug use to heroin, which was odorless and thus harder to detect. Heroin started flowing more freely into Vietnam from Cambodia in 1970, a consequence of that nation’s civil war. According to a Pentagon study, by 1973 up to 20 percent of soldiers were habitual heroin users. Noting the negative consequences of stifling marijuana use, one army commanding officer was quoted saying, “If it would get them to give up the hard stuff, I would buy all the marijuana and hashish in the Delta as a present.”
VIDEO: VIETNAM BY THE NUMBERS Who went, how much they fought, how many died—and more.
Was drug use by soldiers an important factor in America losing the Vietnam War?
By the time Richard Nixon became president, public opinion around the war in Vietnam was deeply divided. In contrast, President Nixon’s war on drugs enjoyed broad bipartisan appeal, and public officials from both the left and the right were quick to blame marijuana and heroin for American failures abroad. Democratic Senator Thomas J. Dodd claimed illegal drug use directly contributed to the My Lai massacre and other American atrocities of war, stating that, “tens of thousands of troops have gone into battle high on marijuana, opium or other drugs, with horrifying results.”
Despite the rhetoric, military high command found scant evidence that drugs had adversely impacted the fighting. A 1968 survey of unit commanders unanimously concluded that neither marijuana nor any other hard drug had “degraded the military’s combat effectiveness.” General William C. Westmoreland’s headquarters came to a similar conclusion after interviewing several high-ranking officers: “The total scope of the problem is best described as minor.”
Kuzmarov argues that’s because, while drug use was indeed rampant, fears about addiction were largely overblown, with most soldiers only using drugs casually, when they deemed a situation sufficiently low-risk—such as when they were on rest and recuperation leave and during lulls in combat.
“It was just a mechanism of escape from the social conditions of the war,” Kuzmarov says.
Did Vietnam veterans struggle with drug addiction after returning?
There was some public concern that habitually using soldiers would return from Vietnam and abuse drugs at home. In response to that anxiety, the White House implemented “Operation Golden Flow” in 1971, which mandated that all servicemen subject themselves to urinalysis before boarding planes back to the United States. Should a serviceman fail to pass his drug test, he was required to stay in the country for detoxification, only to be released back to the United States upon successfully testing clean.
Anxiety about mass addiction returning to America’s shores proved misplaced. Whether a result of Operation Golden Flow or a sign of the more casual usage than initially reported, an interview survey commissioned by the White House’s Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention found that usage and addiction rates “essentially decreased to pre-war levels” following the soldiers’ return.
What drugs did soldiers use in the Vietnam War? According to a 1971 report by the Department of Defense, 51 percent of the armed forces had smoked marijuana, 31 percent had used psychedelics, such as LSD, mescaline and psilocybin mushrooms, and an additional 28 percent had taken hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin.
Almost half of all enlisted men in the Army serving in Vietnam had tried one of two opioids — heroin or opium — and 20% had become addicted while there. All had been in the country for one year, so their exposure to the drug-rich environment was essentially the same.
Examines the issue of drug abuse, rehabilitation and readjustment among armed forces veterans, of which it is estimated there are 40,000 hard core addicts returning from the Vietnam War.
Van Tuong Nguyen (Vietnamese: Nguyễn Tường Vân, listen; 17 August 1980 – 2 December 2005), baptised Caleb, was an Australian from Melbourne, Victoria convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore.
Agent Orange was a herbicide mixture used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. Much of it contained a dangerous chemical contaminant called dioxin. Production of Agent Orange ended in the 1970s and is no longer in use. The dioxin contaminant however continues to have harmful impact today.
In May of 1971 two congressmen, Robert Steele from Connecticut and Morgan Murphy of Illinois, went to Vietnam for an official visit and returned with some extremely disturbing news: 15 percent of U.S. servicemen in Vietnam, they said, were actively addicted to heroin.
Veterans who served in Vietnam, Cambodia, or Laos during the Vietnam War have a higher prevalence of mental health issues, particularly PTSD, compared with both other Vietnam-era Veterans and non-Veterans, according to an analysis of data from the Vietnam Era Health Retrospective Observational Study (VE-HEROeS).
Being exposed to the adrenaline and the fame associated with being a soldier creates a dangerous addiction. Many veterans that deployed to combat come back to the states and chase the high that they felt on the battlefield.
Capital punishment is most often used to sanction drug-related offences, followed by corruption, black-market and violent crimes. Vietnam has some of the harshest drug laws in the world. A 1997 law made possession or smuggling of 100g or more of heroin, or 5 kilograms or more of opium, punishable by death.
Some soldiers developed addiction to the pain-numbing morphine labeled “Warning: May be habit forming.” After the war, people bought—and even stole—surplus medical kits for the morphine inside.
New antimalarial drugs called chloroquine and primaquine were developed during the World War II research program and given to U.S. troops in Korea and Vietnam.
Those who served in the Vietnam war still frequently struggle with PTSD. PTSD can occur in Veterans who witnessed a traumatic events in service, such as a natural disaster, death, combat exposure, or sexual assault.
The Quiet American is a 2002 political drama film and the adaptation of Graham Greene's bestselling 1955 novel set in Vietnam, The Quiet American. It is directed by Phillip Noyce and stars Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, and Do Thi Hai Yen. ... The Quiet American (2002 film)
Fox and Sean Penn, and is based on the events of the 1966 incident on Hill 192 during the Vietnam War, in which a Vietnamese woman was kidnapped from her village by a squad of American soldiers, who raped and murdered her. ...
In fact, his connection and ties with the Vietnam's Communist Party was so tight that during his trial, 153 other people that were tried with him were high ranking officers of the Communist Party. ... Năm Cam.
Griselda Blanco married three times. She was a teenager when she married her first husband, and she split with her last husband in 1983. Her second husband, Alberto Bravo, introduced her to the cocaine trade. She was called the “Black Widow” because she reportedly killed or ordered the death of each of her husbands.
Guzman is the most notorious drug lord of all time, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In the 1980s, he was a member of the Guadalajara Cartel and used to work for Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo.
| Original Story by Lauren Quinn for the University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. US aircraft sprayed 20 million gallons of herbicides across Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Dioxin, a contaminant in Agent Orange, persists today.
What mustard gas is. Mustard gas belongs to a class of organic compounds that include sulfur mustard (Yperite) and nitrogen mustard. Lewisite is an arsenic-containing agent in this class. As gases, these agents appear yellow-brown in color and smell like mustard, garlic, or horseradish.
Agent Purple is the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in their herbicidal warfare program during the Vietnam War. The name comes from the purple stripe painted on the barrels to identify the contents.
The figures show that of 2100000 men and women who served in V'nam, 58,152 or 2.7% were killed. The Army suffered the most casualties, 38,179 or 66% of all casualties.
While the Committee has some evidence suggesting the possibility a POW may have survived to the present, and while some information remains yet to be investigated, there is, at this time, no compelling evidence that proves that any American remains alive in captivity in Southeast Asia.
Many Vietnam veterans claim that most people treated them with indifference and seemed uncomfortable listening to their stories from battle. Some people, however, saw returning soldiers as dangerous, violent symbols of an increasingly futile and terrible war—much like the individual Wowwk encountered.
Common birth defects include Spina bifida, Cleft lip, Congenital heart defects, limb defects such as missing or malformed fingers or toes, neural tube defects that cause problems to the brain or spinal cord, hernias, down syndrome, and other chromosomal disorders.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is defined as having flashbacks, upsetting memories, and anxiety following a traumatic event. It was first officially recognized as a mental health condition in 1980, only five years after the end of the Vietnam War.
Roughly 40% of those who join the military never get deployed to a combat zone at all. 10% to 20% of those who do find themselves on a deployment wind up in a combat zone. Remember, that is not 10 to 20% of the total. It is just 10 to 20% of the 60% who get deployed.
PTSD is one of the most common mental health diagnoses related to MST. Although MST can happen to anyone in the military, it is much more commonly reported in women. About 1 in 3 women Veterans and 1 in 50 male Veterans report experiencing MST when screened (asked about MST experiences) by their VA provider.
The death penalty cannot be applied to juvenile offenders, pregnant women, and women nursing children under 36 months old at the time the crime was committed or being tried. These cases are commuted to life imprisonment.
1. Illegal possession of narcotic substances may carry a penalty of up to life imprisonment in Vietnam. 2. Illegal possession of narcotic substances may be fined up to VND 10 million in Vietnam.
Conventional lethal injection protocol. Typically, three drugs are used in lethal injection. Pancuronium bromide (Pavulon) is used to cause muscle paralysis and respiratory arrest, potassium chloride to stop the heart, and midazolam for sedation.
Light beer was included in the rations of British and American soldiers during the Second World War. In Great Britain, pubs did not close even during the heaviest bombings, and in the United States, the war actually saved the beer industry. Alcohol in moderate doses helped relieve stress and support morale.
Go pill. In contrast to the sleeping agents, a go pill refers to a wakefulness-promoting agent used for fatigue management, especially in a military combat-readiness context; this is contrasted with a no-go pill, which is used to promote sleep in support of combat operations.
The Soldier's Disease was code for addiction to morphine or other opiates. Given the industrial nature of the Civil War, and the state of medical treatment at the time, the source of the addiction developed from amputations caused by shrapnel wounds.
What drugs did soldiers use in the Vietnam War? According to a 1971 report by the Department of Defense, 51 percent of the armed forces had smoked marijuana, 31 percent had used psychedelics, such as LSD, mescaline and psilocybin mushrooms, and an additional 28 percent had taken hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin.
Heroin became a major component of the opium trade after World War II, and the demand for heroin by United States troops during the Vietnam War helped transform the opium economy of the Golden Triangle into a large and profitable heroin economy.
It is a complex and evolving biological, psychological, and social entity, making it challenging to study and diagnose. PTSD is often researched in war and disaster survivors but can affect anybody, including children.
Perhaps the cruelest aspect of the war was the treatment of the returning soldiers. Unlike the hero status given to the returning soldiers form World War II, the soldiers that served in Vietnam were portrayed as baby killers, psychos, drug addicts and war mongers.
However, the more common usage distinguishes between those who served "in-country" and those who did not serve in Vietnam by referring to the "in-country" veterans as "Vietnam veterans" and the others as "Vietnam-era veterans." Regardless, the U.S. government officially refers to all as "Vietnam-era veterans."
Off Limits is a 1988 action-thriller film set during the Vietnam War starring Willem Dafoe and Gregory Hines and directed by Christopher Crowe. The term "off limits" referred to the area where the original crime took place, an area of Saigon off limits to military personnel. ... Off Limits (1988 film)
CIA operative Valerie Plame discovers her identity is allegedly leaked by the government as payback for an op-ed article her husband wrote criticizing the Bush administration.
Among the fresh recruits was a group of college graduates who chose to enlist and become “spies” rather than face an uncertain future in the draft. They posed as civilian contractors, covertly gathered information about the enemy and cozied up to the indigenous peoples of Vietnam and Cambodia.
Directed by the Maestro Oliver Stone, Platoon is a Vietnam War film considered the most realistic depiction of the long brutal war. Oliver Stone, a Vietnam War veteran, brought out a very accurate portrayal of the experiences of the US soldiers in the dense jungles.
Known around the world as "Napalm Girl," Kim Phuc was just 9-years-old when she was photographed running away after a napalm bomb struck her village in Vietnam in June 1972. Now 50 years later, Phuc has received her final round of treatment for the pain and scars she suffered that day.
Some of the women were gang-raped and their bodies mutilated, as were children as young as 12, before being killed. In addition, Vietnamese civilian women were subject to further sexual assaults during the breadth of the conflict, and much like the Korean War, they were used as “comfort women” and prostitutes.
Vietnam war C-Ration meals contained a single four-pack of cigarettes offered in the most popular cigarette brands: Lucky Strikes, Parliament, Chesterfields or Pall Mall's, Winston, Marlboro, Kools, and Salem for the troops.
A group of soldiers smoke Marijuana at their base camp. The methods of smoking are a pipe, a gas mask, a joint, and a Remington rifle. A group of soldiers drink beer, whiskey (referred to as "Kentucky Windage"), and Southern Comfort during a poker game. Soldiers smoke Marijuana from a pipe in their barracks.
Modafinil was introduced as an effective pill to stay awake without the presence of debilitating side effects. Soldiers on air force missions have used it to remain alert for 40 hours straight without feeling like they were crashing afterward.
1. Agent Orange was a herbicide and defoliant used in Vietnam. Agent Orange was a blend of tactical herbicides the U.S. military sprayed from 1962 to 1971 during the Vietnam War to remove the leaves of trees and other dense tropical foliage that provided enemy cover.
A purple smoke grenade shows helicopters the location of the platoon. In Vietnam, smoke grenades were used to send signals and provide cover for troop movements. The colored smoke was also available in green, yellow and red.
Source Smoking is a part of the Vietnamese culture. Exchanging cigarettes is a common form of greeting. Numerous Vietnamese historical figures were known to be smokers. Smoking is perceived as a sign of being cultured, especially among the youth.
As the Vietnam War waged through the '60s, cans evolved stateside, gaining the “pop-top” feature common today. Military personnel in Vietnam however, still received cans with flat tops. It was small price to pay to ensure that U.S. service members got their beer, a taste of home.
More than 60 percent of detected addicts stopped all narcotic use as they left Vietnam and did not resume it after their return to the United States. About one-third continued to use but did not become readdicted, and only 7 percent have been addicted to narcotics since their return.
Go pill. In contrast to the sleeping agents, a go pill refers to a wakefulness-promoting agent used for fatigue management, especially in a military combat-readiness context; this is contrasted with a no-go pill, which is used to promote sleep in support of combat operations.
Alongside whisky and fast food, Soldier Boy orders and subsequently snorts a prescription of “bennies.” Unlike Compound V, bennies are a real and consistently popular drug. Their name comes from the brand Benzedrine, which was surprisingly not a drug unique to the 80s despite Soldier's Boy's origins.
Stimulants. If necessary, a GP or specialist may prescribe a type of medicine known as a stimulant, such as modafinil, pitolisant, sodium oxalate or solriamfetol. These medicines stimulate your central nervous system, which can help keep you awake during the day. They're usually taken as tablets every morning.
Pepper spray, also known as oleoresin capsicum, OC spray, OC gas, and capsicum spray is a chemical compound used for riot control, crowd control, and personal self-defense. It irritates the eyes, causes tears, pain and even temporary blindness.
The military sleep method involves the following steps: Breathe deeply: Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Take slow, deep breaths. Relax your face: Slowly relax all the muscles in your face, starting from your forehead and then moving downward over your cheeks, mouth, and jaw.
The number of Vietnam veterans affected by the chemical Agent Orange is astonishing. Roughly 300-thousand veterans have died from Agent Orange exposure -- that's almost five times as many as the 58-thousand who died in combat. “Did it save lives?
For the purposes of VA compensation benefits, Veterans who served anywhere in Vietnam between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975 are presumed to have been exposed to herbicides, as specified in the Agent Orange Act of 1991.
About 16 percent of all Vietnam veterans who were alive in the 1980s are now dead, with most deaths due to cancer and heart disease, the authors estimate.
Introduction: My name is Terrell Hackett, I am a gleaming, brainy, courageous, helpful, healthy, cooperative, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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