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90 Comments
- VikingBeatbox, on 07/10/2009, -1/+25Can you blame them? I wouldn't want to be in a coherent state all of the time in that situation either.
- duckdaotsu, on 07/10/2009, -0/+15Recovering addict here who knows only too well the hell that is brought back from war... married to a survivor of Nam, many of my friends in the rooms are there because of the damage war creates. Make no doubts about it, War kills for a lifetime.
- Mushrif, on 07/10/2009, -3/+18Thanks for sharing. Interesting article.
- inactive, on 07/10/2009, -5/+20War is not cool.
Praise those that fight.
Condemn those that start wars. - YME1280, on 07/10/2009, -2/+16Between the Heroin and LSD, Vietnam seemed like such a mess.
- DankBuddz, on 07/10/2009, -0/+10Yeah, I was going to say, I'm sure the article could have gotten quite a bit more in depth, especially regarding Vietnam.
- k3rfuffl3, on 07/10/2009, -1/+10If you can't stop it in the general population... what makes you think you're going to stop it in the military?
- inactive, on 07/10/2009, -0/+9Everyone does, moron. Just turn it off.
- 8FoldPath, on 07/10/2009, -1/+9If war is in human nature, surely humans would have evolved a coping mechanism besides self-medication by now.
- AbominableHoman, on 07/10/2009, -0/+6You deserved your ***** mouth washed out for using 'ScyFy'
- Ruger11mcrdpi, on 07/10/2009, -0/+6
As for drug use, no one in my platoon used drugs in Iraq. The "Medic" (corpsman) typically doesn't have access to much more powerful than flexiril anyways, or 1000mg motrin, to suggest he does it pretty laughable, even in our remote/ primitive FOB, the meds were all locked up tight and controlled by senior ranking HM who is attached to the unit, not the low-ranking corpsmen that you train with/ are friends with. One Marine in another company bought some weak drugs off an Iraqi soldier and was caught. So that's one case out of about 300 for my company and our fellow company across the river... I'd be willing to bet you that a statistically similar cross section of civilian American men age 19-25, mostly white, mostly single would have a much higher drug rate than that. BTW On that note typically the supply/ support guys have much higher incidence rates than the infantry guys who are actually "in the *****", and seeing firefights, etc everyday. Truth is when you get back for 10 hours to rest/clean gear/load up after a 4 day patrol, and you're about to go back out the wire, you could give a ***** less about doing drugs. You just want hot food and sleep. Besides, no one wants to be the guy to let down your brothers by being stoned on some *****.
I've heard lots of stories of guys going home on leave and smoking pot, but jeez, who cares? Still I'd say the % is much lower than the rest of the population of the same age.
Lastly, Marines drink a lot. A lot. Some people would say they are attempting to drink things away, alcoholism, etc. Yes there are a few cases like that. But part of that is that you're giving an 18 year old a ~$3000 a month paycheck and no bills! He's going to spend the ***** out of that money, and within that culture, it's the norm to spend it on booze/ women/ motorcycles/ fast cars etc.
But don't take it from me, go ahead and believe some ***** story written off of second hand information with no sources. - FaithclubDotNet, on 07/10/2009, -1/+7"Ahh... That's the stuff!"
- 4degrees, on 07/10/2009, -0/+6its not so much "self-medication" the soldiers are not trying to cure something, they are trying to escape from the harsh reality that is war and what seems to them pointless killing. To dissociate is to be human.
- neillawson, on 07/10/2009, -0/+5Poorly written article on a subject worthy of more research.
- inactive, on 07/10/2009, -5/+10"Curb drug use"? Why would you do that? They're dying by the hundreds everyday in a hostile war zone and you want to take drugs away form them too? Wow, that's ***** up.
- Mujokan, on 07/10/2009, -1/+6Ever hear of "go pills"? Dextroamphetamine for fighter pilots, provided by the Air Force.
- goomba323, on 07/10/2009, -1/+5That's why you give them anti-depressants and pain killers!! Oh wait...
- ThanatosST, on 07/10/2009, -1/+5Grabbin some peelz
- DankBuddz, on 07/10/2009, -1/+5Why don't you try using your brain to critically think about the difference between the two. Maybe you'll come to a conclusion.
- Halsfield, on 07/10/2009, -2/+6MEDIC!!!!!!!!!!!
- inactive, on 07/10/2009, -2/+5Killing is certainly human nature and is a part of all walks of life.
Just because you have a consciousness doesn't take the instinct that's been programmed into you as a living organism. And there are plenty of other urges that humans try to hold back and are rather unsuccessful at doing. Sexuality is one. People try to control or direct it, but never is it gonna happen.
If war wasn't human nature then it should be easy to just stop doing. - TheNik, on 07/10/2009, -0/+3If there is a drug that turns me into a robot - specifically one that isn't DXM - I want to know about it.
- Sherman901, on 07/10/2009, -0/+3You would want to be coherent if your life was at stake...
Imagine taking LSD and then getting ambushed. - inactive, on 07/10/2009, -1/+4Succumbing to violence inertia should be dignified?
- wefarrell, on 07/10/2009, -0/+3excellent trolling sir
- AbominableHoman, on 07/10/2009, -0/+3For crews on long range bombers/recon. Not on a regular basis.
- AndrewMoyer, on 07/10/2009, -0/+3Everybody I know that joined the military, did so at least in part to get away from drugs.
- Spire3660, on 07/10/2009, -0/+2Halsfield, if given the choice of jail or fighting in Vietnam, (or ANY foreign country not directly threatening our sovereignty) I would choose jail.
- Swivelstick, on 07/10/2009, -0/+2Yeah all the death and mayhem was nothing in comparison..
- inkubusfan, on 07/10/2009, -1/+3what does the amount of comments have to do with whether or not it makes front page? Are you new?
- Halsfield, on 07/10/2009, -2/+4Refusing to fight isnt always an option. Refuse to fight when you're the one being attacked and see how far that gets you, refuse to fight when they are drafting people and enjoy your jail time. The actual soldiers doing the fighting should be praised (as long as they are fighting honorably and not raping and pillaging), the people that start the wars are the ones that should be vilified.
Thats not to say a peaceful solution shouldnt always be strived for, but when your government has the power to imprison you or force you into fighting via a draft your choice to not fight can be taken away.
If we could get a unilateral decision to not fight from every single person on the planet, then yes, we could have an eternally peaceful world because there wouldnt be any soldiers to fight the wars, but that just isnt possible in today's world. Maybe sometime in the future they will figure out some way to end all wars, but not today, and not for the foreseeable future. - Ymeg, on 07/10/2009, -1/+3What if the war is justified?
- Ruger11mcrdpi, on 07/10/2009, -0/+2We drink a lot because 1. it's fun 2. unlike most other 18-25 year old poor college/working kids we can actually afford to blow inordinate ammounts of money on alcohol.
- inactive, on 07/10/2009, -1/+3"surely humans would have evolved a coping mechanism besides self-medication by now."
How does this make sense?
That's like saying that if cold kills people, we should have developed thick coats of hair by now.
You treat "self-medication" with reproach, yet it's just another way we use our evolutionary talents of abstract thought to give ourselves what we need/lack. - Ymeg, on 07/10/2009, -0/+2When did I say anything about US foreign policy?
- fuzzybutton, on 07/10/2009, -0/+2http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2001/07/04/opium0107 ...
Article from 2001: The Taliban had almost eradicated poppies. There were only 7,000 acres left. Since we invaded the acreage went up to 400,000.
From the article: The Taliban's ban on opium products has cost many people their livelihoods. But no one dares defy the ban. - Spire3660, on 07/10/2009, -1/+3Because cutting up people with claymores, mace, and swords leaves a nice tidy battle scene. THe 'horrors' of modern warfare are actually less compared to the previous horrors of war. In the civil war, if you got your leg half blown off, not only did you have to deal with the pain of the wound, but also the pain of it being cut off with no anesthetic above whiskey and no antibiotics.
- inactive, on 07/10/2009, -0/+2And frat boys are known for restraining their indulgences? ZIIING.*
*Now I have just entirely justified drug abuse in the military, but illogically pitting two unopposed elements of American society against themselves.
Anyway, I would reckon that drug abuse rates among post-military men and women is higher than those of post-college graduates. The heavy psychological toll of being estranged from your loved ones, and having your life devoted to engaging those who want to kill you must undoubtedly have an effect that only extremely sturdy genetics or exigent chemicals can assuage. Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to sell you on something for their own sake. - brundlefly76, on 07/11/2009, -0/+2Heroin I can understand, but I don't know who the hell would want to trip balls in the middle of a war.
- dschmink, on 07/11/2009, -0/+2Just go down to your local Army recruiter and tell him you want to be a medic. You'll have all the supply you'll need. Oh and 4-6 years of your life owned by the government.
- Ruger11mcrdpi, on 07/10/2009, -0/+2Yeah the pilots have used stuff like that, it's extremely tightly controlled, and limited in scope and use. Honestly, most of the drug use is in the rear echelon supply type jobs where you have downtime. Plus we lived in such tight quarters (literally 25 guys in one big room, almost side by side) there was really no where to do drugs and not get caught. The heat was another thing, too, anytime you were not patrolling, you were pounding water, because you wore 100-120lbs of gear and it got up to 140 degrees in the day some days... it was too hot to be "on" anything, anything you took that had the chance of dehydrating you, could kill you. I mean, guys that smoked cigarettes usually didn't even do much of that during the daytime... damn I don't miss that heat.
- inactive, on 07/10/2009, -0/+2SuckaMCz is not trying to justify those scenes of wanton bloodshed, he is explaining that war is part of human nature. It's unavoidable. It is 'unacceptable', but it will always be here.
- steeltormentor, on 07/10/2009, -0/+1Knowing about the world of addiction, neither is very palatable. As Steve Tyler sang '...I'm saying a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight...'
I agree that escape is often the lesser of two evils....one hopes that there won't be a time that the escape is a necessity....but I agree, War is Hell. - twiztidsinz, on 07/10/2009, -0/+1@Spire3660: Cutting someone in two is a bit different than seeing a shower of body parts fall from the sky... so yeah, it is a bit different.
- samsonofjohn, on 07/10/2009, -0/+1Yeah those were some pretty bad sources, interesting to hear your first hand experience. I am surprised that there was not that much drug use in your company, I know I would be self medicating if I was in that situation. I have heard of pilots during combat have been given amphetamines to stay awake, I know your in the marines not air force but do you know of any situations like that?
- PowderedToasty, on 07/10/2009, -0/+1Holy ***** DHTamus, are you suggesting people join the Marines to mooch off of other hard working Americans? And what ***** heaping check are you talking about?? Those guys don't make that much. I'm not pro-military but that's some ***** up ***** you just said.
- YoctoYotta, on 07/12/2009, -0/+1Would you care to make any other statements about things you do not understand?
- PowderedToasty, on 07/10/2009, -0/+1Two words: machine gun. Still this has nothing to do with evolution. Unless a lot of people died in war because they couldn't "cope" that wouldn't have if they could cope, there would be no evolution happening here.
- PowderedToasty, on 07/10/2009, -0/+1That dude who posted doesn't really know what evolution is, which is pretty common. I think that's why so many people don't "believe it"
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