European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 24, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 4 the stars and stripes firs of its kind defense department starts anti drug drive by Marc hurts a Washington Bureau Washington is the defense department is embark ing on an anti drug educational Campaign that is the first of its kind in . Military new military Effort is aimed at informing and saving souls according to Frank a. Bartimo assistant defense Gen eral counsel and chairman of the Pentagon s new drug abuse control committee. Bartimo and his top level group of army Navy air Force and Marine corps officers aim at putting an end to the illicit use of drugs of any kind in the armed in Case any Weed Heads morale morals or combat effectiveness of our personnel is nevertheless Fitt testified the most recent statistics on drug offences in the armed Force show a Rise since 1965. Most of the trouble involve the use of marijuana which grows wild in Many parts of the world. The Lush Countryside of Vietnam produces a particularly Strong variety which is used in cigarettes for a Quick profit Toped lers. Whoever thinks that smoking marijuana is no More dangerous than drinking alcohol is dead wrong defense officials say. The Washington is Here Are some defense department definitions used in a feb. 2 directive on the illegal or improper use of drags by servicemen narcotics any opiates or intoxicating products of the hemp Plant cannabis sativa. Dangerous drugs non narcotic drugs that Are habit forming or have a potential for abuse because of their Stim ulant depressant or hallucinogenic abuse the illegal wrongful or improper use of any narcotic substance marijuana or dangerous drug or their illegal or wrongful Possession or Sale. Fail to get the message the Campaign packs a lot of punch be Hind it in the form of disciplinary action. No Stone is being left unturned to Tell servicemen particularly those in Southeast Asia that anything from marijuana on up to the hard narcotics is danger Ous to the individual to his Fel Low Serviceman and to his coun try. Assistant defense Secretary Alfred b. Fitt recently told con Gress that in general there i virtually no addiction to so called hard narcotics and alow rate of incidence of drug abuse in the armed William c. Westmore land . Commander in Viet Nam said the total scope of the marijuana problem in Vietnam is Best described As minor in sofar As any measurable impaction the War Effort health vietnamese marijuana is much stronger than the kind that is found in the .so Strong infant that last month a Sailor and this month an airman suffered from psychosis Legal insanity As a result of smoking the Viet namese Brand. The defense depart ment working in conjunction with other agencies of the government including the Bureau of customs and narcotics and the pharmaceutical Industry has prepared for initial distribution in the next 30 to 40 Days 130,000 copies of a handbook for com Manders called drug abuse game without Bartimo said the Best brains in government and Industry have prepared this history of narcotics marijuana and danger Ous drugs to inform troops of the dangers that lie ahead in Thiesfield. The handbook is being printed by the government printing of fice for eventual distribution throughout the services Down to at least company level. Copies will also be sold to the Public. The anti drug Campaign also includes the production of movies television programs another Materiel for troop use. Drugs that affect the behave roof Man have been around for a Long time maybe even Back Asfar As the Stone age and some of them have been helpful in the hands of physicians according to medical authorities. Or. James l. Goddard . Commissioner of food and drugs last fall told a House committee the s h o c k 1 n g growth and use of marijuana has been so rapid that none of us in government in Medicine or the Legal profession has been Able to counter it the California Justice depart ment reported More than 28,000 adult drug arrests in 1966, the highest figure to Date and 32 per cent above the previous year. Marijuana offences accounted for about one half of the1966 arrests and showed a 71 per cent increase Over those in1965. Arrests for heroin and other narcotics Rose about 11per cent. California s adult marijuana arrests in 1966 were triple those of 1960 and among juveniles therise was even More dramatic. Drug arrests in general Rose 87per cent Between 1965 and 1966, but juvenile marijuana arrest increased 140 per cent. Mari Juana plus almost 900 danger Ous drug arrests accounted for 95 per cent of the juvenile drug arrests in the state in 1966. Most of the marijuana seen inthe . Comes from Mexico. Another and much stronger variety comes from the near East Middle East and is called hashish. Marijuana May be smoked Usa eur reports on i drug abuse by John Reese staff write figures supplied by Usa eur Headquarters seem to indicate that drug and narcotic usage among soldiers in Europe has not con formed to the Sharp upward trend elsewhere among . Military men. The air Force and the Navy in Europe said they had no figures on drug abuse. Spokesmen for each Headquarters said local commander keep the records which Are not centralized in Wiesbaden or in Are statistics released by Usa eur showing the number of investigations completed for the past three years with no reference to the number of individuals involved. 1965marijuana 85 narcotics 3 dangerous drugs 12 1966 144 1 totals 100 157 the number of narcotics offences tried by Dsa Reuk courts martial 1965 1966 30 29 140 1967 56 Usa eur spokesman had no explanation for the apparent inconsistency Between the de crease in offences and the increase in courts martial in 1967, beyond stating that some cases investigated in 1966 might not have come to trial until 1967. A spokesman for the Usa eur Provost marshal discounted narcotics abuse As a major problem within the command. But he noted that drug abuse both in and out of the military has shown an upward trend and Isan area to be traffic in narcotics and marijuana is com Mon in most Large cities of Western Europe. Some countries take a More tolerant View of drug traffic than others. In Germany where the Large majority of . Forces Are stationed the police Are Vigi Lant and the penalties Are heavy. Much of the marijuana and hashish which find their Way into Western Europe originate in North Africa and the Middle East where the Weed is not illegal. Figures an probes cases investigated hard narcotics 1965,1966 1967marijuana 1965 19661967 dangerous drugs1965 i960 1967 worldwide Vietnam 269521 673 522 3,096 5,536 153917 1,532 339 89 43503 1,267 120 34 Navy and Marine corps figures not available. Rates per thousand conus 70�275 274 2841,892 3,493 126648 1,144 hard narcotics1965 19681967 marijuana 1965 19661967 dangerous drugs1965 19661967 worldwide Vietnam conus .10 .16.17 .19 .981.63 .06.29 .45# Complete statistics not available. .03 .14 .19 .491.80 2.69 .07 .07 #.13 .13 #.89 1.62 #.31 .54 sniffed or ingested but results Are experienced most quickly with smoking. The mental effects according to drug experts include a feeling of exultation and a dreamy sensation accompanied by a free flow of of time distance vision and hearing Are distorted. Some times panic and fear Are experienced. Hallucinations May develop Vita Large doses. In the company of others the Mari Juana user is talkative and laughs easily. When alone Beis More often drowsy and quiet. The initial period of stimulation is often followed by a Moody reverie and drowsiness. The user s ability to perform Many tasks safely particularly driving an automobile is seriously impaired. Those who have studied the problem say a Small dose for some and a Large dose for All causes temporary insanity and what each Man does in a psychotic state will vary with the individual and his circumstance sat the time of the psychosis. The important question for society they say is no longer in what manner marijuana us causes crime but rather How Many crimes would not be committed if the drug were never introduced into social Environ ments. Some marijuana users have tried to excuse their indulgence by claiming that it is no worse than drinking. While alcohol is a major social problem expert say it is no valid justification to adopt a new abuse by trying to show that it is no worse than an old , experts add unlike alcohol marijuana is nearly Al ways consumed for the express purpose of getting High disorienting intoxication that could Lead to dangerous psychosis. Another significant Dif Ference Between alcohol and marijuana is that alcohol work faster and the heavy Drinker is disabled. A marijuana High takes More time. This difference becomes important when the marijuana user operates a car for example and suffers froma distortion of time distance and space. Another dangerous aspect of habitual marijuana use is Addic Tion to stronger narcotics. This does not mean that All those who use marijuana go on to More dangerous heroin but experience leaves Little doubt that Large majority of narcotic addicts begin their drug taking with Case servicemen fail to Gei the message Bartimo says those who use drugs face Crun Inal prosecution and discharge under other than honorable conditions. A loss than honorable discharge has a Long lasting effect that might Cut a Veteran off from valuable benefits for the rest of his life european edition col. James w. Campbell Lech Elmer d. Frank. .,.,.,proof i Henry 0, Epstein. .1. Circulation an unofficial newspaper of and for tha . Armed Force , . European command and printed Dally a i Surmany. Military addrow the Start and 8trla, Apo 09175. Turn atm n the Start end strip to of in 1034, 1-Darmtadt, Germany. To i go a n prefix w1w o?1j m Darmstadt Airstrip prefix m7 741. Telex a York off Cei m1 waa Hinton new York 10014, to i
