Nazis on meth, army vets on ecstasy: how drugs shape warfare

Since ancient times, soldiers and armies have used drugs to help them fight. This can be as simple as a shot of courage, to embolden warriors for a charge into combat, or the systemic use of stimulants to keep whole armies marching.

Norse mythology describes the exploits of the so-called berzerkers ferocious warriors who went into battle clad in animal skins. In the legends,berzerkers fought fearlesslyin a frenzied state, andthey achieved that state through some kind of animistic force derived from the skins.

But some historians now believe the berzerkers actually existed and that their frenzy was the result of chemical enhancement. There's some evidence to suggest they were actually under the influence of a hallucinogenic mushroom,amanita muscaria.

In modern times, armies have harnessed the power of drugs in a more systematic way.

Norman Ohlerdocuments the ways the drugs drove the German Army during World War II, in his book Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich.

Ohler argues that some of the German army's earlytriumphs victories that would shape the course of the warwere thanks in part to the use of an over-the-counter form of methamphetamine called Pervitin. A doctornamed Otto F. Ranke was tasked with improving the performance of German soldiers. He had seen studies that showed Pervitin reduced fear and fatigue, and realized it was the perfect combination for soldiers.

Pervitin helped keep the army marching past the breaking pointwhen Germany invaded France by way of the Ardennes mountains. But the drug also helped the soldiers fight.

The first battle of the western campaign was in Martelange, Belgium. Ohlerfound accounts from Belgian soldiers who recall German soldiers charging fearlessly towards machine gun nests.

"You could say that the reduction of the fear level which is scientifically proven if you take a high dosage of Pervitinled the Germans to this unorthodox behaviour, which then frightened the Belgian defenders," said Ohler.

According to Ohler,these incidents helped create the rumour of the unbeatable German super soldier.

Drugs still a part of war

Drugs continue to play a role in warfare. Perhaps the most disturbing example is how drugs have been used to manipulate and control child soldiers in African conflict zone.

IshmaelBeah, author of A Long Way Gone: memoirs of a boy soldier,fought in Sierra Leone. Beahdescribed how the commanders would keep the kids highon 'brown browns,' a mixture of cocaine and gunpowder.

The gunpowder contains nitroglycerin, which is a vasodilator, and helps spread the cocaine through the bloodstream more quickly. Thecommanders would have the children commit atrocities while high, because the drugs would help them overcome fear and conscience. The dependence on the drugs kept the kids loyal and obedient.

In popular culture, the Vietnam War may be the warmost closely associated with drug use and abuse. But according to historian Jeremy Kuzmarov, that perception is largely a myth with roots in propaganda.

In his book, The Myth of the Addicted Army, Kuzmarovarguesalcohol was the drug of choice for most American GIs.He says that, to the extent troops used marijuana, the usewas confined to rear areas far from combat.

Contrary to the image of thousands of Americans coming home from Vietnam hooked on heroin,use of the drug was notwidespread. Kuzmarovargues thatRichard Nixon's administration used the idea of addicted soldiers to drum up support for the domestic war on drugs.

You can get into something, a darkness that will take you over. That's where it is akin to drugs or a spiritual experience,- Karl Marlantes

Karl Marlanteswho served in Vietnam confirms that pot use was not tolerated on the front lines. Marlantes points out that soldiers have always used drugs as a kind of self medication to manage the trauma that comes with combat. But he also acknowledgeshow, in spite of all the horror and trauma, soldiers can spend the rest of their lives trying to regain the feeling of being in war.

According to Marlantes, the experience of warfare as a kind of drug in itself. He describedthe intoxicating feeling of being a 23-year-old with thepower to call in napalm attacks and artillery bombardment.

"You can get into something, a darkness that will take you over. That's where it is akin to drugs or a spiritual experience," he said.

Drugshelping to heal after battle

Mark Hadenis leading research into the use of MDMA better known as ecstasy to help veterans overcome post traumatic stress disorder. It's better known as a party drug, but it is showing promise when used alongwith talk therapy to help veterans come to terms with their traumatic experiences.

Hadendescribesthe condition of PTSD as a kind of tape loop in the sufferer's mind. He says traditional therapy has struggled to breakthat loop, because patients are so bound up in fear. He says MDMAbreaks down the fear and lets the patient access the loop.

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