Ukraine Army - Drugs
The problem of drug use is not only in the army. There is a problem of drug use in general. Therefore, this is not a question of the army, but of society as a whole. Nevertheless, there is a problem in the army. Anasha [a weak drug from certain varieties of cannabis] and amphetamines are used everywhere in combat positions. In general, stimulants have always been used in all wars. but there are cases when amphetamines are sniffed to cheer up. An ordinary member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who does not leave the duty squads, is mainly involved in drug doping. Officers and commanders prefer alcohol as a relief.
Viking "berserkers", named after the " bear " in the Old Norse, famously fought in a trance-like state, possibly as a result of receiving "magic" mushrooms from agaric and marsh myrtle. The Icelandic historian and poet Snorri Stuluson (1179 to 1241 AD) described them as "as mad as dogs or wolves, biting shields and as strong as bears or wild oxen."
Adolf Hitler was a drug addict, and the Nazi drug use gives a new meaning to the term "war on drugs." But they were not alone. Recent publications have shown that drugs are as much a part of conflict as bullets; often defining wars rather than sitting anecdotally aside from them. In his book Blitzed, German author Norman Oler describes how the Third Reich was riddled with drugs, including cocaine, heroin, and especially crystalline meth, which was used by everyone from soldiers to homeowners and factory workers. More recently, the Middle East conflicts have seen an increase in Captagon, an amphetamine.
The military often has emotional armor: "I'm strong, I can handle everything myself". And then nightmares and memories begin. In fact, drug addiction is a desire to get away from reality. It can help. If a person is drunk, it is immediately apparent: her weapon is confiscated and removed from the outfit. But drug intoxication cannot be recognized without basic knowledge. If a person is under the influence of drugs while performing combat missions, and even more so with weapons, they can react inadequately and injure not only oneself but also others.
Ukraine has been offering people addicted to substitution therapy to help them return to normal life. This approach reduced the number of AIDS infections by 4 times by 2016. People with depressive moods are also "drawn" to drugs - victims of the social crisis, the unemployed, children from disadvantaged or single-parent families. Alcohol and drugs are used by participants and veterans of hostilities in the east of the country.
A captured serviceman of the Donbass battalion said 05 May 2022 that the Ukrainian military was supplied with special drugs that they took before the battle, which made them lose fear and lower their pain threshold. "I know about one drug - "Teofidrin" - it was supplied to us by volunteers. We used it immediately before the fight, after which our fear disappeared. <...> We could go into battle calmly, without fear of anything. Strong, of course, breaking after it . <…> But they were leaving, they were worried," the prisoner of war said in a video that was distributed by the Russian Defense Ministry. According to the captive Ukrainian, most often such drugs are used by the military from the volunteer battalions "Donbass", "Azov", "Aidar".
Teofedrin-N is prescribed as an aid in respiratory diseases accompanied by bronchospasm, including bronchial asthma; chronic obstructive bronchitis; and emphysema. The combined drug has a bronchodilator and antispasmodic effect. The bronchodilatory effect of the drug is due to the combination of methylxanthine derivatives (theophylline, caffeine) with the sympathomimetic ephedrine and m-anticholinergic atropine, which is the main active principle of belladonna extract. Phenobarbital eliminates the excitation of the central nervous system. In 2015 the enterprise Semako (Moscow) stopped the production of this drug. And there are no plans to reopen in the near future.
In Ukraine, narcotic stimulants are being distributed among mercenary groups to dull pain and induce a feeling of euphoria, Sultan Khamzaev, a member of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, said 19 April 2022. “On the territory of Ukraine, among the Armed Forces of Ukraine and special units consisting of Western mercenaries, narcotic substances called Captagon, a mixture of narcotic substances and immunostimulants, are actively distributed. Pills are popular among militants, they cause a feeling of euphoria and practically turn off the feeling of pain”.
As the deputy noted, "stimulants appear where the foot of a NATO soldier steps." According to him, the bigger problem is that "pills are distributed uncontrollably by the military and among civilians." The parliamentarian called for an investigation with the involvement of the world community. “The Pentagon came to Ukraine with a chimera flask and drugs. These facts should be subject to investigation with an assessment of the entire world, civilized community,” he concluded.
Captagon was first manufactured in 1961 as an alternative to amphetamine and methamphetamine used at the time to treat narcolepsy, fatigue, and the behavioral disorder "minimal brain dysfunction". Dexamphetamine was already being used by the military to enable soldiers to stay awake for long periods of time and to "enhance courage and bravado".
Captagon is reported to be a commonly used stimulant in the Middle East. In addition, some recent media reports have linked this drug to perpetrators of terrorist acts in Europe or terrorist groups based in areas of conflict in the Middle East. : Originally, Captagon® was the main brand name for a medicinal product containing fenetylline as its active ingredient. It is no longer produced today or used for therapeutic purposes. Nevertheless, many countries in the Middle East regularly report seizures of a drug known as ‘captagon’.
Media reports suggest that misuse of Captagon® may have occurred in Europe during the period 1970-1990, particularly in sport as a performance-enhancing substance. For example, in France, Captagon® was linked to an important cycling doping case in 1987 and was also reported to be used in other sports, including professional football during the 1990s. The use of stimulants, ‘especially Captagon’, was also reported as ‘commonplace’ in French rugby during the 1980s and 1990s. There are also similar reports in relation to professional football in Germany.
Forensic profiling analysis by the German BKA of samples from 65 different seizures of captagon tablets, made in Jordan, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates, concluded that none of the pills tested contained fenetylline but that the main active ingredient was amphetamine in combination with other substances including caffeine, theophylline, quinine and paracetamol. The vast majority (82 %) of the amphetamine found in the tablets had been manufactured from the benzyl methyl ketone (BMK) precursor alphaphenylacetoacetonitrile (APAAN).
The representative of the People's Militia of the Donetsk People's Republic, Eduard Basurin, stated that the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not experience fear, since they take drugs. He reported finding evidence of their use. Confirmed the use of drugs and military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who were taken prisoner. So, the Ukrainian military Dmitry Obshchinnikov said that many of his colleagues were addicted to drugs - "salts" and the ideas of nationalism.
“People who use drugs were visible, they call it “salt” ... There were nationalists, fanatics. In my company there were from 10 to 20 people. There were those who, like me, were afraid. There were those who simply wanted to earn money in the service. And they didn’t expect that there would be a war at all, ”said Obshchinnikov.
RT correspondent Igor Zhdanov said 21 May 2022 that the militants who surrendered from Azovstal left behind meldonium, diphenhydramine and other prescription drugs.
Meldonium is used to treat ischaemia: a lack of blood flow to parts of the body, particularly in cases of angina or heart failure. It is manufactured in Latvia and only distributed in Baltic countries and Russia. The drug's manufacturer, Grindeks, says it is mostly aimed at people with heart conditions, though it can also be used for "physical and psycho-emotional overload" in otherwise healthy people. Meldonium's inventor, chemist Ivars Kalvins, has said it was given to Soviet soldiers fighting in Afghanistan to boost their stamina. It is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States and is not authorised in the rest of Europe. Meldonium (Mildronate) is an anti-ischemic drug that was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Prohibited List, effective January 1, 2016.
In sport, evidence indicates that meldonium may increase endurance, improve rehabilitation following exercise, and enhance activations of the central nervous system. Meldonium may also provide cognitive advantages. The benefit of taking meldonium in view of performance enhancement in athletes is quite speculative and is discussed without sound scientific evidence. The Western scientific community and lay press have questioned whether sufficient evidence exists to substantiate meldonium’s actual performance-enhancing potential. There is essentially no English-language data regarding the effect of meldonium on exercise tolerance or cardiovascular function in healthy subjects or trained athletes.
Diphenhydramine (also known as Benadryl®) is an antihistamine that reduces the effects of natural chemical histamine in the body. It's known as a drowsy (sedating) antihistamine and is more likely to make users feel sleepy than other antihistamines. Histamine can produce symptoms of sneezing, itching, watery eyes, and runny nose. Diphenhydramine is used to treat sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, hives, skin rash, itching, and other cold or allergy symptoms. Diphenhydramine is also used to treat motion sickness, to induce sleep, and to treat certain symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
In 2023, "Nalbuphine" - a drug used for pain relief - was in fifth place in terms of pharmacy sales in Ukraine. This drug belongs to the category "Analgesics. Opioids. Morphine derivatives". It became popular among other opioid painkillers because, unlike them, "Nalbuphine" is prescribed by a regular prescription - it is not on the list of drugs whose circulation is strictly controlled. In addition, until 2017, syringes with this drug were also stocked in individual military first-aid kits.
There were studies that showed that "Nalbuphine" had a low potential for causing drug addiction. There are studies that prove that its use, like any other opiate, can lead to addiction. This was also said by doctors whom Suspilne spoke with while writing the material. A similar story happened in the USA, when another "safe opioid" appeared on the market - Oxycontin. Its uncontrolled circulation led to the opioid crisis , which still killed more than 64 thousand Americans every year.
In South Korea, Nalbuphine was added to the list of controlled substances after the number of cases of addiction to this drug increased more than tenfold in 2001. In 2000, the Irish Psychological Journal published the results of a study of the use of Nalbuphine among bodybuilders - all participants met the criteria for opioid addiction. In the United States, Nalbuphine is controlled in circulation. Since 2024, the Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health has been responsible for monitoring alcohol and drug abuse in Ukraine. The development of a monitoring system is part of Ukraine's international obligations within the framework of European integration. "Nalbuphine" is often abused by people who have no previous experience with psychoactive substances.
In 2014, Nalbuphine was officially included in military first-aid kits. Since 2017, it has been removed from them, with some exceptions. "Nalbuphine" was also removed from military first-aid kits because it cannot be combined with other opiate painkillers. That is, if a wounded person was injected with "Nalbuphine" during evacuation from the battlefield, it would be impossible for him to undergo a quick surgical intervention, since other typical painkillers would no longer be taken because of "Nalbuphine".
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
