The Real Drug War

As both a historian and a Texan, I obviously love a good story.  Once a week for the last decade and a half, I’ve written a new story (totaling hundreds of them), and if there was a common thread (other than the number of times I have mentioned Napoleon or the Titanic) it might be how frequently those stories mention alcohol.  There are hundreds of stories that begin with someone saying, “Hold my beer and watch this.”

Unfortunately, there are essentially no great stories that start with someone eating a salad.

Even stories about warfare are frequently the direct result of armies using—and abusing—high levels of alcohol and drugs.  The same governments that would hand out harsh punishments for driving the family car while “impaired” have ordered pilots and tank commanders to use those same substances during warfare.  I mean that literally, since the Nazi Panzerkorps used to give their tank commanders something called “Tank Chocolate” that was actually amphetamines.

For the Greeks, the drug of choice was wine, drunk by the gallons just before battle, while the Vikings fermented a potent drink made from Amanita mushrooms.  Military commanders from the earliest of times have realized that drugs could change ordinary men into the ruthless army necessary to win victories.  Simply put, drugs allowed men to do the horrific and heroic acts that sober men would never consider.

An 18^th century historian, who witnessed the warriors of Mindanao in action, wrote that after consuming “sugapa”, a psychedelic root plant, “He who eats it is made beside himself, and rendered so furious that while its effect lasts he cares not for dangers, nor even hesitates to rush into the midst of pikes and swords….and by eating it at the time of the attack, they enter the battle like furious wild beasts, without turning back even when their force is cut to pieces; on the other hand, even when one of them is pierced from side to side with a lance, he will raise himself by that very lance in order to strike at him who had pierced him.”

That pretty well sums up why armies continued to use large amounts of otherwise illegal drugs to push men to their limits.  During World War I, both the German and English armies issued codeine to their troops for both medical use and as a stimulant.  The English distributed codeine tables known as Forced March that promised to increase endurance while suppressing hunger.  Commanders also noted that the use of codeine calmed “agitated” troops.

It was during World War II that the use of drugs really became a standardized item.  Germany issued its soldiers a drug called Pervitin, considered at the time an ideal war drug, as it could keep pilots alert for long periods of time, and kept entire armies euphoric despite hazardous duties…As well it should, since the drug was actually an early form of crystal meth.

Part of the reason for the German Army’s success in the early days of the war was this drug.  During the Blitzkrieg, soldiers under the effects of Pervitin could march for 3 days without sleep, carrying heavy loads, and still remaining alert with a positive morale.

Pervitin was everywhere, even Hitler himself was injected with a liquid form of the drug.  The 3 mg pill form was distributed by the Wehrmacht (the German Army) extensively.  By the end of the war, more than 35 million doses had been distributed.  Since the drug was habit forming, soldiers frequently wrote home asking their families to purchase it over the counter to send to them.

Allied soldiers hearing about the wondrous “Super Pill” of the Nazis began experimenting with Pervitin, too.  The results for the early tests of the drug were positive, bomber crews could remain alert for extended periods of time.  It did not take long, however, for the negative effects to appear.  After prolonged use, long periods of rest did not seem to compensate for the loss of sleep.  Otherwise healthy young soldiers who used the drug died of heart failure, while others committed suicide during psychotic phases. And those who became addicted to the drug developed the usual symptoms of addiction and withdrawal: sweating, dizziness, hallucination, and depression.  (Just think of any episode of Breaking Bad, but replace the entire cast with Nazis.)

Over time, the combat effectiveness of the units using the drug declined to the point that some military commanders recommended that the German Army discontinue prescribing it to soldiers.  Nevertheless, the drug was not only used for the duration of the war, but the West German Army, the Bundeswehr, continued to maintain stockpiles of the drug until the 1980’s.  On the other side of the Iron Curtain, the East German National People’s Army did not discontinue use of the drug until 1988.

While various armies continued to use various forms of the drug for decades—including the U. S. Army during the Vietnam War—you have to wonder what might have happened if the German Army had perfected its miracle weapon, a Super Duper Pill.

Nazi scientists, using political prisoners at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp as test subjects, were developing an enhanced endurance pill.  Mixing 5 mg of Cocaine, 3 mg of Methamphetamine, and 5 mg of Oxycodone with various other stimulants, the scientists developed a compound called D-IX.  After being dosed with the compound, political prisoners could march 65 miles while carrying 45 pounds of equipment without rest.  Considering the general physical condition of prisoners in a German concentration camp, these results are remarkable.  The drug would be capable of turning ordinary soldiers into near supermen.  (It should be noted that the efficient Nazi scientists took advantage of the experiments to simultaneously test new forms of military boots.)

Fortunately for the prisoners (and perhaps, for the rest of the world), the war ended before the compound was perfected.  But, I’m sure someone, somewhere, is working on it.  If it is not ready for the next war, I'm sure it will soon be for sale in your neighborhood.