DRUGS CLAIMING 'BATTALION A YEAR'

The British Army loses almost a "battalion a year" due to illegal drug
use, research said.

The findings also showed a four-fold growth in soldiers testing
positive for the class A drug cocaine.

Research into compulsory drugs testing (CDT) of UK service personnel
identified a rise in positive tests for illegal substances in the
British Army from 517 individual cases in 2003, to 795 in 2005 and 769
in 2006.

The findings, published by the Journal of the Royal United Services
Institute (RUSI) said the cost is nearly the equivalent of losing one
battalion a year and higher than fatalities and serious casualties in
both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Christianne Tipping, defence management analyst from RUSI, said: "The
issue of an increasing number of drug-related discharges at a time
when recruitment and retention are problematic needs to be examined by
the MoD (Ministry of Defence). The hard-line policy on drugs has
served the MoD well to date. CDT exists to deter rather than to try to
catch every single person who might engage in occasional drug use.

"It also helps to maintain operational effectiveness and reduce
possible security risks, such as blackmail."

But she said the MoD needs to be sure its near-zero tolerance approach
remains the best way of managing the problem of drug abuse in the
armed forces. She said: "Drug abuse in the armed forces is a live
issue at present, especially after the recent case involving the
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, but it is important to stress that
drug misuse in the armed forces as a whole involves relatively low
numbers."

Professor Sheila Bird, a senior scientist with the Medical Research
Council writing for the RUSI Journal, believed that the British Army's
substantially increased urinary cocaine positive rate could be the tip
of the iceberg. The positive rate is up from 1.4 per 1,000 in 2003 to
4.0 and 5.7 per 1,000 in the first semesters of 2006 and 2007
respectively - up to a four-fold increase.

Researchers said that the Government refused, on cost grounds, to
disclose key data into CDT practice, such as whether there have been
subtle changes in test practice since 2003. Changes might include
better test sensitivity, more testing after weekends, or intentionally
targeting returnees soon after home leave.

Such alterations could help explain the increased rate of cocaine
positivity without much underlying change in soldiers' infrequent
cocaine use, researchers said. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said:
"Drug misuse is not widespread in the Armed Forces. Drug misuse is
incompatible with service life and is not tolerated."