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List of psychoactive drugs used by militaries

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Militaries worldwide have used or are using various psychoactive drugs to improve performance of soldiers by suppressing hunger, increasing the ability to sustain effort without food, increasing and lengthening wakefulness and concentration, suppressing fear, reducing empathy, and improving reflexes and memory-recall, amongst other things.

Contemporary

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (January 2017)

For drugs that recently were or currently are being used by militaries.
Administration tends to include strict medical supervision and prior briefing of the medical risks.
Caffeine, diet pills, painkillers, nicotine, and alcohol are not included on the list. Non-administrated, illegally used drugs are also not included.

Substance Description United States China India Germany UK France
Amphetamine
(and close derivatives)		 US Air Force and potentially other branches prescribed it to pilots for long endurance flights or for critical missions. Until 2017 Un­known Un­known Until 1970s/1988(East) Un­known Un­known
Fenethylline Used by ISIS in combat and smuggled for financing activities. Responsible for the biggest methamphetamine related seizure in history when $1B worth of fenethylline was intercepted at an Italian port in 2020. Un­known Un­known Un­known Un­known Un­known Un­known
Modafinil Militaries of several countries are known to have expressed interest in modafinil as an alternative to amphetamine – the drug traditionally employed in combat situations where troops face sleep deprivation, such as during lengthy missions. The French government indicated that the Foreign Legion used modafinil during certain covert operations. The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence commissioned research into modafinil from QinetiQ and spent £300,000 on one investigation. In 2011, the Indian Air Force announced that modafinil was included in contingency plans.
In the United States military, modafinil has been approved for use on certain Air Force missions, and it is being investigated for other uses. As of November 2012, modafinil is the only drug approved by the Air Force as a "go pill" for fatigue management. The use of dextroamphetamine (a.k.a., Dexedrine) is no longer approved.		 Yes Confirmed testing Yes Yes Yes Yes
Sleeping pills
(generally)		 See no-go pills Un­known Yes Un­known Un­known Un­known


Historic

Two hip flasks, located in the left-center, are featured in the military equipment used as emergency sustenance by the Luftwaffe, which was the air force of Nazi Germany during World War II.
  • Alcohol has a long association of military use, and has been called "liquid courage" for its role in preparing troops for battle, anaesthetize injured soldiers, and celebrate military victories. It has also served as a coping mechanism for combat stress reactions and a means of decompression from combat to everyday life. However, this reliance on alcohol can have negative consequences for physical and mental health. Military and veteran populations face significant challenges in addressing the co-occurrence of PTSD and alcohol use disorder.
  • Benzedrine was claimed to have been administered by Allied forces during WWII, esp. by the US
    • Germany and Japan used methamphetamine.
  • Fenethylline (trade name Captagon) has played a role in the Syrian civil war. The production and sale of fenethylline generates large revenues which are likely used to fund the purchase of weapons, and fenethylline is used as a stimulant by combatants. Poverty and international sanctions that limit legal exports are contributing factors. Since the fall of the Assad regime the new Syrian transitional government has ordered the cessation of the drug trade, and production has reportedly been reduced by 90%.
  • Methamphetamine ("Panzerschokolade", "Pervitin") during WWII by Nazi Germany
    • Fliegerschokolade [de] was the eponymous name that the Luftwaffe are claimed to have used.
    • D-IX was a combination of Methamphetamine, Oxycodone, and Cocaine that was produced in 1944 but could not be mass produced before the war ended. It was part of a future generation of "pep pills" for the German military and was tested on concentration camp prisoners.

See also

References

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  2. ^ Kamienski, Lukasz (8 April 2016). "The Drugs That Built a Super Soldier". The Atlantic. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  3. Bonne, Jon (January 13, 2006). "'Go pills': A war on drugs?". NBC News. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  4. ^ "This is Your Military on Drugs". New Republic. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Die Super-Soldaten, die auf den Schlachtfeldern der Zukunft kämpfen werden" (in German). Vice Motherboard. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  6. ^ Saletan, William (29 May 2013). "The War on Sleep". Slate. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  7. "U.S. Combat Pilots on Speed". ABC News. 6 January 2006. Archived from the original on 2011-01-31.
  8. Hurst, Fabienne (17 May 2013). ""Pervitin" – Großvater des Crystal Meth". Der Spiegel. Spiegel Online. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  9. ""Wunderpille" Pervitin – Drogeneinnahme für das Vaterland". 3Sat. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  10. Todd, Brian; McConnell, Dugald (21 November 2015). "Syria fighters may be fueled by amphetamines". CNN. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  11. "Captagon, ISIS's favorite amphetamine, explained". Vox. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
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  18. ^ "Pilot pill project". News – City. PuneMirror. February 16, 2011. Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
  19. ^ Taylor GP, Jr; Keys RE (December 1, 2003). "Modafinil and management of aircrew fatigue" (PDF). United States Department of the Air Force. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
  20. ^ Air Force Special Operations Command Instruction 48–101 Archived 2014-06-11 at the Wayback Machine (sects. 1.7.4), U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command, November 30, 2012.
  21. ^ "PLA eyes 'Night Eagle' to make army of night owls". South China Morning Post. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  22. "Super Soldiers? Military Drug New Rage". ABC News. 7 December 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
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  24. ^ "Indian Air Force pilots popping pills to 'heighten alertness'". DAWN. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  25. "UK army tested 'stay awake' pills". BBC News. 26 October 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
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  29. Dworkin ER, Bergman HE, Walton TO, Walker DD, Kaysen DL (2018). "Co-Occurring Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder in U.S. Military and Veteran Populations". Alcohol Research. 39 (2): 161–169. PMC 6561402. PMID 31198655.
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  31. "WW II German soldiers, civilians dropped amphetamines to give them boost to battle allies". NY Daily News. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  32. Lopez G (20 November 2015). "Captagon, ISIS's favorite amphetamine, explained". Vox.
  33. ^ Henley J (13 January 2014). "Captagon: the amphetamine fuelling Syria's civil war". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  34. Kalin S (12 January 2014). "Insight – War turns Syria into major amphetamines producer, consumer". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
  35. Baker A. "Syria's Breaking Bad: Are Amphetamines Funding the War?". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  36. "The Arab World's New Drug of Choice". BBC Radio 4. 4 June 2022.
  37. Oweis, Khaled Yacoub; Tollast, Robert. "Captagon flows that enriched Assad regime in Syria come to 'near-full halt'". The National. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  38. "Soldiers (Pervitin)Have Used Drugs to Enhance Their Killing Capabilities in Basically Every War". Vice. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  39. Ulrich, Andreas. "The Nazi Death Machine: Hitler's Drugged Soldiers". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  40. Paterson, Lawrence (2006). Weapons of desperation : German frogmen and midget submarines of the Second World War. London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-86176-279-5. OCLC 65470074.
  41. "Jeevan Vasagar: cocaine-based "wonder drug" tested on concentration camp inmates". Amphetamines.com. 19 November 2002. Retrieved 15 January 2011.

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