In World War II, amphetamines in the form of Benzedrine and other drugs were freely given to Axis soldiers and sailors who needed to stay awake in battle conditions. These drugs were also used by the Allies (the United States, Britain, etc.) to keep their soldiers awake.

During the Vietnam War, service members were not given drugs by the government as in World War II; however, many drugs were freely available to military men and women stationed in Southeast Asia. Interestingly, most service members who used drugs in Vietnam readily gave them up when they returned home to the United States, even though some developed long-term addictions to heroin and other drugs.

According to Levinthal, an estimated 11 percent of the troops who returned from Vietnam were regular abusers of heroin and 22 percent had tried the drug at least one time, and there were great concerns about what was believed to be large numbers of these addicts returning to the United States. The heroin in Vietnam was very pure--90 to 98 percent pure, versus the heroin in the United States then, which was 2-10 percent pure. However, only 1-2 percent of the returned Vietnam War veterans continued to abuse heroin when they came home, whether it was because the drug was too costly in the United States or too difficult to obtain, or they were relieved to be back home (or the result of other factors or a combination of factors).

References:

Levinthal, Charles F. "The History of Drug Use and Drug Legislation." In Drugs, Society, and Criminal Justice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2006.

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