What are the Reasons behind Heavy Drug use in the Military?
Currently, there are several reasons why drug use in the military has reached the highest level in many years. • Stress. The soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are constantly under fire from the enemy insurgents. Coping with this stress on a day-to-day basis in the field has led many to drugs as a means of self-medication. • Access. Even though a “zero tolerance” policy has been in place in the military for several years, more soldiers have greater access to drugs than ever before. Family members and friends are sometimes able to ship the drugs overseas via courier, or soldiers returning to duty may bring them back from the U.S. as well. • Inactivity. Service in the military is usually represented by short periods of intense action – followed by long stretches of inactivity and boredom. These long stretches where there is little to do lead many to fill the time with drug use. • Alertness. As mentioned above, many soldiers will use stimulants as a means of enhancing alertness duri
