• Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Though alcohol was the drug most commonly used by American troops in the Vietnam War, cannabis was the second-most common. Initially rates of usage among deployed soldiers were comparable to those of their stateside peers, with 29% of troops departing Vietnam in 1967 reporting having ever used marijuana in their lives. A 1976 study however showed that from 1967–1971, the proportion of troops having used marijuana peaked at 34% before stabilizing to 18%, while the number of troops who had used cannabis prior to deployment stayed around 8%.[14] Cannabis use by troops in Vietnam was generally dealt with using Article 15 non-judicial punishment in units such as the 101st Airborne.[15]

    During the Vietnam War period, cannabis use also became common among US forces in the United States and in Europe, with a 1971 article claiming that over 1,000 midshipmen at Annapolis Naval Academy used cannabis, and a survey in Germany showing that half of the soldiers in the surveyed battalion were regular cannabis users.[16]

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_and_the_United_States_military

    • chaogomu@kbin.social
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      10 months ago

      I have an uncle who used to tell stories about how when he was in the Army, they would have drug dogs come in to find everyone’s stash, so he and the other pot smokers would mix their ashes in with the floor wax, They’d then use the special wax in patches.

      So the dog would come in, and then alert on the floor 6 feet from the door. And again out in the middle of the room. Then again by the wall with nothing on it.

      And then by the fishtank where the stash was actually hidden.

      The other benefit of mixing the ash into the floor wax as that they could then use that wax everywhere. They once used it in the lobby of the kennels.

      The thing that put an end to it all was piss testing. Once that started, the game was over.

      • Apathy Tree@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        10 months ago

        My sperm donor told me that when he was in the army (court ordered for dealing drugs) he would mix cocaine with salt and spread it into the carpet to burn out the dogs noses.

        I don’t talk to him anymore… not a great person.

    • PugJesus@kbin.socialM
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      10 months ago

      Damn, that’s even cooler than the still photo, but also… a little heartbreaking. The guy at the end just sounds so… exhausted, mentally. What a fucked up war.

    • PugJesus@kbin.socialM
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      10 months ago

      “What’s the worst that could happen? We could die? Fuck, man, that ship’s already sailed; we’re in Vietnam. Take a hit and pump the action.”