Fighters in Syria are on steady doses of an amphetamine called Captagon.

originally posted by: ladyinwaiting
a reply to: Domo1

Interesting as I think we all agree they are profoundly mentally ill.

Doctors report that the drug has dangerous side effects, including psychosis and brain damage, according to the BBC.

Hm. I wonder how long it takes for the hyperactivity and sleeplessness to cause one to have a massive heart attack?

With such chemicals, generally the mental side effects come long before physical or even death. In a war situation, it's unlikely they will die of the drug before the war ends. The human body is strong.

That's why many stimulant users can be heavily addicted for decades before dying. Some never die of the drugs themselves. But many will become crazy or psychotic, as well as have their life fall apart long before.

originally posted by: crazyewok
Nazi used the same thing, so did the USAF in WW2 to keep the soldiers fighting longer.

Right. So the hypocrisy is a bit silly on this page.

The reality is that in some limited military situations a stimulant makes sense. If someone is engaged in some insane final battle for three days straight and really does need to stay up non stop, or the battle may be lost or death will come, then a stimulant makes sense.

What isn't wise is to provide amphetamines or similar drugs to the same soldiers on a consistent basis, due to everything from addiction to physical side effects to psychosis, all of which could negatively affect a military campaign.

Not .......now there's a winning strategy...

Typically I'd say after 3 or 4 days, their brain turns to putty. They stare off into oblivion......... trying to decide when they stand up........ whether to go left or right, move or stay.....

We have all seen how well 'cranking' works out in peoples lives. Now you have several problems to address. Addiction, psychosis, warring just to support your addiction. Loss of clarity in thought, and eventual fry-out. And likely a collapse of ISSI crankers from within.

a reply to: Domo1

More importantly than the staying awake aspect is that whatever they do while high is associated with pleasure, as the pleasure centers of the brain are simulated. Its the same reason children on speed are perfectly content to be entranced by the television, college kids happy to study for 10 hours straight, and meth users disassembling their cell phones and putting them back together repeatedly.

In this situation, the brain is flooded with dopamine while the "fighter" is shooting people. Very quickly, killing other humans is equated to feeling good. I believe that's the main reason to pump these fighters (and others, they're prevalent among the militaries of the world's top powers as well.) Alertness is a nice aside effect of the programming they provide.

its not just fighters, is the isis terrorists (made by west). Those who actually invade villages and cut heads, etc.

We have this news as well, but it clearly states, they are used by ISIS (tzixadists).