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Drug use in Nam: Myth or True?
dolfan
Member Posts: 4,159
Hollywood flicks about Nam always seem to have a scene with troops getting high on illegal drugs. There is a video on the net of troops using a 12ga to smoke dope. Rumor is that is where the phrase "shotgun" originated in the drug culture. As a teen, I had a neighbor that was a Nam vet and a real pot head. He would tell me stories about the war and bragged about how he was always high in Nam. The Mujahadeen in Afghanistan were known to be higher than a kite while fighting the Soviets. Various rebel groups in Africa were also known to consume drugs.
Was drug use pervasive in Nam? Did any of you vets see your fellow soldiers getting high?
Was drug use pervasive in Nam? Did any of you vets see your fellow soldiers getting high?
Comments
It was pretty common to see the same 2 guys sharing a joint at the same spot regularly.
He wanted us to enjoy the meal and get drunk; thinking that would help relieve the tension.
He was right. Good man.[;)][;)]
I caught one of my men smoking pot. A swift whack over his head
and it never happened-to my knowledge-again. I did see many of the REMF using drugs. Thus the reason I preferred the boonies to any fire support base. Yes, it was there for the picking or whatever but I would be damned if it was going to put myself or my men in harms way.
#1. DRINKERS (OK & DEPENDABLE IF NOT 'HUNG OVER')
#2. DRUGGIES (NOT DEPENDABLE HIGH OR NOT)
#3. TOTALY STRAIGHT (SPOOKY)
A LAUNDRY BAG OF POT WAS $5/$10 JUST OUTSIDE THE GATE.
every once and a while some idiot would O.D. on heroin.
Like Mike Whiskey said, the boozers were dependable but the druggies
were questionable when the stuff hit the fan.
A few days later you could read the lab results of what you had.
The Navy was trying to keep the OD rate down.
In the early 70s the Navy had a real drug and alcohol problem.
CNO Zumwalt almost destroyed the Navy.
But we sure did have fun.
AC
But, then, after 5 or 7 days, it would be back out to sea for 45 or 60 days of nothing but work and watches. Though we did have a few minor infractions with on-board drinking occasionally, (not me personally, of course![:o)])and though I do know of twice, during my whole tour aboard (three cruises), of guys smoking reefer in the voids, there mostly just wasn't time for that kind of bullsh_t! [:D]
I was invited into the void once, but when I went in some guy had a Teac Tape recorder so damn loud I couldn't stand the pain, so I excused myself to a poker game on the 8th deck where I won $11.00 and a box of Butterfingers.[8D]
Combat Vet VN
D.A.V Life Member
But during an operation, we had no tolerance at all for someone who was high, drunk or hungover. The worst was when heroin hit big time. I know of one instance where a heroin user went so far overboard he started getting boils all over himself. He soon had an accident and was shipped home. We had our own society and our own set of rules, I guess.
On the other hand, we had a VERY small unit of six pilots and a dozen or so enlisted. We all shared a tiny "Officers' Club" where all mixed drinks were 35 cents, you could buy unlimited beer at $2.40 a case (soda was $2.80!) and the Montagnards invited us to seemingly endless nam-pei parties where the local hootch and willing young things ran freely. We burned out a mixer a month making daiquiris.
Me? I've never touched a joint, seldom drink more than two a day, and was a good nam-pei guest - except for the young honeys. Disgustingly straight arrow. And damn glad of it.
Fortunately LSD was rare and only sent in letters from home. With 80% pure Heroin sold by children on the street. This was done to protect the dealers because the White Mice[civilian police] would only beat the children before sending them home, but an adult smack dealer in Vietnam would be killed.
I was a pilot and I never knew a pilot who'd touch the stuff. I can't say that absolutely for some of our ground troops, but they never failed to do their jobs and I never saw them visibly high. I flew with Vietnamese in my right seat who were obviously hammered - and one with terminal tuberculosis. It was indeed a war, you know.
On the other hand, we had a VERY small unit of six pilots and a dozen or so enlisted. We all shared a tiny "Officers' Club" where all mixed drinks were 35 cents, you could buy unlimited beer at $2.40 a case (soda was $2.80!) and the Montagnards invited us to seemingly endless nam-pei parties where the local hootch and willing young things ran freely. We burned out a mixer a month making daiquiris.
Me? I've never touched a joint, seldom drink more than two a day, and was a good nam-pei guest - except for the young honeys. Disgustingly straight arrow. And damn glad of it.
The thing about grunts getting high is, you came down really fast when you had too.
Our break was Subic Bay, and Olongapo, Philippines. Still no drugs or pot for us though. Movies are simply movies--to the average Marine like ones that I knew.
Tam ky, Chu Lai area to the DMZ
This was a gunt swinging battalion. In the rear or FB and when not on bunker line - just about everyone smoked - or drank ( I drank mostly) but never on the line, and nobody dared to smoke in the bush! ever!!
Never did figure out how drinking was better than smoking, eating, popping or shooting-up!
Each and every one of the practicing alcoholic there, assured me there was night and day differences. They claimed that it was crystal clear to them.
Don't you know that the "crystal looking glass" was actually the empty bottom end of whatever they were drinking alcohol from ... and never saw a practicing alcoholic contemplate the bottom of any glass for long.
Anyone out there want to attempt to sensibly explain how some chemicals of abuse are more OK than others? Not talking quality or prices!
Neither did I feel safe or secure having anyone under the influence around me, or especially behind me.
Some of the drunks used to enjoy suing mortars like fireworks at night and into our friendly villages. Those were closer in where one could appreciate all the bright lights, when the rounds exploded, burned homes to the ground. Great fun, killed a number of women and kids and maimed even more. I am certain that those people appreciated the fact that they were our friends and the chemically dependent troops were watching their backs as well as mine!
You would have thought more adult males might have been killed. Most of them were on friendly forces ops assured that their kids, sisters, wives, and grand parents were all being looked out for and protected back home by the Americans. Even every little kid loved me after that!
Yeah, they were looking out for me and "had my back" just like they did for the villagers. And I felt safe as safe could be.
I guess that I was one of the scary guys referred to earlier ... war was sobering for me.
when I first got there was the 1st time I smoked pot. In my 21 months I seen all kinds of drugs.
The pot was good but did not compare to what you could get in Bankock. Opium was killer, there were french pills that came in foil packs in strips I believe we called them BT,s I do not remember why. Then there were glass vials like hour glasses with a liquid speed. You would hold the bottom of the vial and flick the top and they would break and we would pour the liquid in to fresca or some other surplus crap soda the px would have and drink it. we would use ritz cracker can lids and put opium and pot in them and heat and shake it until the opium would all be stuck to the pot. then heroin came around in the $2.00 vials and $5.00 vials. One $2.00 vial probably could od 10 people now. Most shotguns were done with a pipe a K woody
or a yellow bowl if my memory serves me right. We did do shot guns from a pipe into the barrel of a 12ga pump and the smoke came out the ej port. I can only remember that once. We would sit under a rigged up flare chute and get high people would come and go from under it. Someone had a gas mask rigged up to accept shotguns and pipes with pot,opium, and heroin done in 3 to 9 layers were real popular. Wine in bongs. I havent thought about this poop in years. with all that said and done I have been sober for 25+ years
Thanks for the memory
ps we flew stoned alot pilots also, not on combat missions. It was great to fly and smoke in the helicopter if it was when AFVN had rock & roll hour. It came through the head phones. I was a crew chief on a cobra with the right pilot we would go on test flights and just enjoy ourselves. We did not do this often but we did do it.
We many times had to go on emergency nite time extractions of SF guys and unscheuled pilots would be poopfaced and go. All I know is you would never get away with what we did today