US soldiers turning to drug abuse

Categories

Addiction Treatment
Alcohol
Drugs
Gambling
In the papers
On TV

News Archive

Home » News » Drugs » US soldiers turning to drug abuse

by Change | 30 Jul 2010

Bookmark

E-mail

Soldiers are taking to drugs in order to deal with the negative mental effects of being in the Army.

A new report has detailed the extent to which US soldiers are turning to drug abuse in order to cope with the psychological effects of war.

Peter Chiarelli, vice-chief of the US Army, said that the type of person who offers to be recruited by the military is often a high-risk individual, prone to dangerous behaviour and addictions.

The 15-month report also touches on the number of suicides among those serving their country, which Mr Chiarelli, who helped compile the study, suggested could also be linked to drug abuse.

"These numbers are high, and we are going to look at every single facet of the Army to make a determination on what we can find out, and what we need to do," he stated.

Richard Gil Kerlikowske, US president Barack Obama's chief advisor on national drug policy, recently told the Washington Informer that the administration is moving towards a view of drug addiction as a mental health issue, rather than a criminal one.

Bookmark this: