US Troops and heroin addiction?

I saw this posted and discussed on another website and thought this was a very real problem and probably less talked about than any other issue. What do you guys think? I'm not a big fan of Air America and kind of sounds like propaganda but still a good topic nonetheless.

www.youtube.com...

[edit on 22-10-2009 by Zosynspiracy]

[edit on 22-10-2009 by Zosynspiracy]

TOO much drug testing for a soldier to really get addicted ..
Not to say that a few won't, I'm just saying that in general, the military knows about this and tests for it!

There is much evidence that both the Afghani war and Vietnam were about poppy production more than anything else.

Lots of money to be made by whoever is controlling the heroine trade....

With all the drug testing the military does any service man would be caught quickly and if the number caught went up to fast the military would increase the amount and frequency of testing to stop the problem.

I dont see any way heroin addiction can become a problem now in the military.

So some of you are arguing that the US Army's strict drug testing policies in Afghanistan are going to prevent 18-25 year old kids knee deep in the atrocities of war from doing heroin?

Also heroin only stays in the system for up to 72 hours. So if the military uses simple urine tests I'm sure they are easy to beat. I'm not saying our troops are turning into a bunch of druggies but to pass this potential problem off as don't worry everything is under control is completely naive and dumb.

[edit on 22-10-2009 by Zosynspiracy]

Originally posted by Zosynspiracy
So some of you are arguing that the US Army's strict drug testing policies in Afghanistan are going to prevent 18-25 year old kids knee deep in the atrocities of war from doing heroin?

Agreed.
\
Go ask Vietnam vets about heroin use in the military if you don't believe it happnens in abundance....

Heroine doesn't even stay in the system very long as far as I know. Even if they drug-test every 30 days (although I'm sure it's longer) the kids can still just wait for the drug-test and shoot-up after for a few days at least.

Originally posted by bettermakings
Heroine doesn't even stay in the system very long as far as I know. Even if they drug-test every 30 days (although I'm sure it's longer) the kids can still just wait for the drug-test and shoot-up after for a few days at least.

3 days.

It stays for less than 3 days.

reply to post by bettermakings


The Navy randomly tests 20% of everyone in their unit each month. That means a dozen or so tests per month. Since the testing days and personnel tested are randomly chosen by a computer program, the chance of getting tested is high every single day. If drugs are found in your urine sample, you are quickly processed out of the military. Therefore, drug use is extremely low. In the past 6 years in my command that I was the drug testing coordinator, we only had 3 people pop positive for drugs. See, an individual's name might not be chosen for a month or two or they may be chosen several times in a single month. It's too high of a risk. The system ensures that those who do drugs will eventually be caught.

I am 99% sure that the same system is used by all branches. I know that when I was in Iraq, the Army was testing as much or more than the Navy.

reply to post by bagari


So let me get this straight..............some US soldier who just got through a vicious 48hr firefight with the Taliban in the most unforgiving territory in the world is going to wake up to some superior asking him for a random urine sample? LOL. yeah right. I bet there is very little drug testing going on in the frontline among battle hardened soldiers.

reply to post by Zosynspiracy


I went to Iraq with the Army in 2007, and I can tell you from personal experience that random drug testing occurs on a continual basis. Even if you live out in the sticks at a Combat Out Post (COP), or do a lot of convoys, when you get back to the main base, the FOB, after a long mission, you can get tested at any time by your command. The randomly designated soldiers were typically escorted from their bunks in the middle of the night or early morning, and taken straight to the testing site where they stayed until they pissed, if it took all day. It sounds ridiculous, but it's the way things were. I got pissed 3 times on the tour, and even had a barracks shake-down because a guy got busted using steroids.

reply to post by John_Brown


John, thank you for your first hand input. There are so many misconceptions about the military and how it operates that many ATSers base their opinions on misguided assumptions rather than fact.