War, On Drugs: The Military’s Complicated Relationship With Narcotics

Beer
Just think of them as the secret weapons -- or handicaps -- of soldiers around the world: booze, weed, ecstasy, heroin and a handful of other illicit pills, plants and elixirs. Because whether top brass want to admit it or not, the storied history of global warfare would be way less interesting without them.


From some boozy bonding in the barracks or a few uppers to stay alert on an aerial mission, to scoring psychedelics that pass a urine test or experimenting with rave drugs to alleviate trauma, controlled substances are, for better or for worse, surprisingly ubiquitous in military circles.
So whatever your vice of choice, light it, pop it or drink it, and then indulge in a little war -- on drugs.

Troops on Tap

That mask is a good idea in more ways than one. Not only is this troop enjoying some of the most extreme funneling we've ever seen, but he's also concealing his identity from military brass cracking down on alcohol consumption among enlistees.
Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are subject to General Order 1, which forbids the holy trifecta of booze, gambling and pornography. After all, alcohol and firearms don't exactly mix. Alcohol and gas masks, on the other hand, seem like a perfect combination. PHOTOS