DRUG-TAKING TROOPS PROVOKE ARMY CRISIS

Zero Tolerance Leads To 800 Expulsions A Year And Worsens Troop
Shortage

Fifteen British soldiers a week are being thrown out of the army for
taking drugs, including heroin, ecstasy, cannabis and cocaine, figures
obtained by The Observer reveal.

Almost 800 troops were discharged last year after failing random drug
tests. But, with British forces already stretched in Iraq and
Afghanistan, some experts have cast doubt on the long-term viability
of the Ministry of Defence's zero-tolerance approach to drugs and its
compulsory expulsion policy.

Professor David Nutt, a psychopharmacologist at Bristol University and
a member of the government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs,
told The Observer he thought the policy was illogical and misguided.
Much of the drug use within the armed forces was 'situational' and
recreational, and reflected a trend in society at large.

'The whole issue of drug testing is a very complex one,' Nutt said.
'The army has to ask itself the very serious question of what they're
trying to do here. Are they saying drugs are illegal, so if you take
them you're not fit to be a soldier? Or are they saying using cocaine
or cannabis is interfering with your ability to do your job? If it's
the latter, then we need to see the evidence for that.'

He also raised concerns that random drug testing had the perverse
effect of making people use more dangerous drugs. 'One of the really
big problems is that cannabis lasts in the body for much longer, so
people using a class C drug are much more likely to be caught than
people using more dangerous drugs like crack or heroin. If someone is
intoxicated on cannabis going into battle, then there probably isn't
any doubt that it would impair their ability to function. But after
combat it's very unclear whether it will do any harm at all. The
current approach isn't necessarily the most logical way of dealing
with the issue.'

He said alcohol was, in some cases, much more dangerous than some
illegal drugs. The use of drugs in the military was complex: 'It's
well known that heroin was used widely by troops in the Vietnam war to
deal with the craziness. Soldiers used drugs while there, but stopped
using when they came home. Similarly in Afghanistan, I think many
troops will see cannabis as a locally sanctioned form of
relaxation.'

Figures show that 769 soldiers failed random drug tests in
2006.

The latest statistics were released after it emerged that 20 soldiers
from the Royal Regiment of Scotland were facing compulsory discharge
after testing positive for a range of drugs. Another 26 squaddies were
sacked earlier this year.

There had been speculation that soldiers were deliberately trying to
fail the strict tests to avoid tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
However, the army has strongly rebuffed such allegations, saying
soldiers do not know whether they are going to be tested next week,
next year or in five years.

Major Phillip Curtis, an army spokesman, said the policy was crystal
clear: 'Drugs are incompatible with military service and won't be
tolerated. Whether it's class A or class C, there is no distinction.
Some soldiers may see taking drugs as a quick way out, but that would
be a tiny minority.'

Most of those who'd taken drugs had probably succumbed to peer
pressure. 'The army reflects society. When soldiers go away for the
weekend, their drug of choice still tends to be alcohol. But some end
up taking drugs instead, or as well. However, the prevalence of drug
taking in the armed forces is still significantly less than an
equivalent sample in civilian society,' Curtis said.

The renewed evidence of high rates of drug-taking in the forces comes
amid long-running concerns that the stresses of warfare are turning
many young recruits towards illegal substances.

American defence chiefs have reported historically high rates of
suicide among personnel who have fought in Iraq and studies have
suggested that many returning troops have severe problems with stress
and substance abuse.

Clive Fairweather, a former SAS colonel who works for the Combat
Stress charity, which treats ex-service personnel for psychological
and addiction problems, said there had been a marked change in the
culture both within the army and in society as a whole over the past
10 years.

'Most of the problems a decade ago were related to the army's
hard-drinking culture. But that has changed dramatically. Drugs are
rife in society, particularly in a certain male age group. Many of
these soldiers are from inner-city areas. They go home at the weekends
and they not only have lots to drink, but they are also exposed to
drugs.'

He said there was a question for the public at large: 'They are paying
for soldiers to handle a weapon that can kill. Are they prepared to
tolerate soldiers who smoke cannabis but don't take heroin? I think
the question has to be asked because the army can't keep haemorrhaging
troops at the current rate.'