Drug Use in Vietname
Drug use by the soldiers in the Vietnam War was very common. Drug use in the military has always been around, but in the Vietnam era it started to increase at an alarming rate. It is noted that there were many drugs used and abused during this time. These drugs include marijuana, cocaine, and heroine. Soldiers often used these drugs to kill the pain of many hardships such as injury during battle, loss of a fellow soldier or being away from home.
Marijuana is legally considered a drug according to the federal Controlled Substances Act; however the use of it was treated differently from other drugs by American soldiers and military lawyers in Vietnam. (Brush) Marijuana was present in Vietnam long before the arrival of the Americans and the start of the war. Drug laws were poorly defined and the enforcement of these poorly defined laws had little priority in the Vietnamese criminal justice system. The Vietnamese Government had no control over marijuana and there was no central drug enforcement agency.
According to a survey made in 1966 by the U. S. military command in the Saigon area showed that there were 29 fixed outlets for the purchase of marijuana. The use and culture of marijuana in Vietnam has often been considered part of the cultural regulations for use, sale, and protocol and there is no sense of illegal activity like there is in the U. S. Many American soldiers have noted that the Vietnamese people used marijuana freely and openly during the time. There are even stories of American soldiers smoking marijuana with the South Vietnamese civilians and soldiers (Brush).
In 1963, soldiers started using marijuana during the advisory period of the war. This was the earliest noted time of drug use in the Vietnam War and began before the widespread use in the United States. As its popularity grew, Congressional investigations began. In 1967 an investigation by congress revealed 16 instances of marijuana use inside the Marine brig at Da Nang. The source was the Vietnamese who gave it to prisoners on working parties. It was first often distributed by the soldiers throwing it into passing vehicles in which prisoners were riding (Brush).
Prisoners were not the only people eligible to get the ample drug. While driving through urban areas marines found marijuana easily from vendors selling it on the streets. Marines took the offense of marijuana more seriously than the army. While the marines were subjecting all marijuana users to Courts-Marshall, the army only subjected users and dealers of hard drugs to trial. Although the marines took a more harsh approach to the use of marijuana, it was a failure. By 1969 use of marijuana was no longer just a trend of rear area units, and a drug rehabilitation was established in Cua Viet.
This quote from a senior officer shows the helplessness against the rising trend of drug use among soldiers. “I don’t know what the solution is…. I don’t know what the hell we are going to do. ” (Brush) Marijuana was not the only drug problem during the Vietnam during the war. During 1970 and 1971, the media started to carry news of two new drug trends. The studies of the media showed a growing number of white, middle-class young people, in suburbs as well as inner cities, were said to be using or dealing heroin.
And United States military personnel-primarily in Vietnam, but also at duty stations in the United States and throughout the world-were similarly said to be sniffing, smoking, or mainlining heroin in substantial numbers. (Brecher) The problem of drug use gained President Richard Nixon’s attention, and in 1971 he said this to Congress, “Even now, there are no precise national statistics on drug use and drug addiction in the United States, the rate at which drug use is increasing, or where and how this increase is taking place.
Most of what we think we know is extrapolated from those few states and cities where the dimensions of the problem have forced closer attention, including the maintenance of statistics. ” Also in 1971, anecdotal evidence revealed that heroin had become the must popular illicit drug among citizens and soldiers of the U. S. During the summer of 1971, the public was informed of the widespread heroin use and addiction among many of the United States armed forces in Vietnam. Public officials from the President of the United States announced that everything possible would be done to rehabilitate or cure addicted soldiers serving in the war.
This shocking information about the drug addicted soldiers serving in the army started a massive rehabilitation plan. Richard Nixon released this plan to Congress in 1971 with this statement, “Rehabilitation: A New Priority…. I am asking the Congress for a total of $105 million in addition to funds already contained in my 1972 budget to be used solely for the treatment and rehabilitation of drug-addicted individuals…. The nature of drug addiction, and the peculiar aspects of the present problem as it involves veterans [of the Vietnam war], make it imperative that rehabilitation procedures be undertaken immediately. . .
In order to expedite the rehabilitation program of Vietnam veterans, I have ordered the immediate establishment of … immediate rehabilitation efforts to be taken in Vietnam…. The Department of Defense will provide rehabilitation programs to all servicemen being returned for discharge who want this help, and we will be requesting legislation to permit the military services to retain for treatment any individual due for discharge who is a narcotic addict. All of our servicemen must be accorded the right to rehabilitation. “
