Drugs in the History of War

An overview of the deliberate use of drugs/narcotics in historical warfare.
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#drugs #history #warfare

[@shamikghosh1131]

"War on drugs" ❌ "War WHILE on drugs" 💯

[@davem4316]

"Kamikaze while on drugs" ~ 💯±10%

[@Oglokoog]

War, on drugs!

[@GlobalFolkloreShorts]

Stay zooted 4/20 Skyrim Eldergarden

[@ImAskingAiNow]

Stay Zooted Nephew

[@DEATHTOTHESHITTERS]

The Only official War on on a Thing. All other wars are against peoples or nations.

[@roberth721]

"You don't think I'm gonna do that sober, do you?"

[@ThomasAndersonPhD]

"I'm way to high to deal with this"

[@Sky-Lan3]

@@ThomasAndersonPhDgood lord 😂

[@josephvisnovsky1462]

Alcohol "yes I can dance, or fist fight that police officer ".

[@Flytrap]

"Hold my beer."

[@gorbalsboy]

Or if ​@@josephvisnovsky1462or if wearing a kilt expose yourself to your mother in law😮

[@RorikH]

Fun fact: Heroin is called that because it was supposed to have the heroic effect of relieving pain like Morphine but without the risk of addiction. Un-fun fact: It did not work.

[@baconsarny-geddon8298]

Well, the "without addition" part didn't work. And it wouldn't be the wisest choice for ANY application requiring motivation... But I'd still bet that a badly injured soldier WITH a dose of smack, would b better at fighting on, than the injured soldier WITHOUT any drugs. So it was at least PARTIALLY successful.

[@stocktonjoans]

Bonus Fact: They've said the same thing about every Opiate / Opioid ever since, up to and and after fentanyl , Bonus Un-fun fact: See above

[@patrickdix772]

​@stocktonjoans yeah, a lot of the pharmaceutical reps (preaching a drug company's products to doctors to prescribe) for oxycotton used that. Then began claiming there was "pseudo addiction" which oxycotton cause. That is, the patients would have all the symptoms of opioid addiction, but it's totally not that, honest.

[@stocktonjoans]

@@patrickdix772 it's even worse than that, "pseudo addiction" was one of, if not the, most evil marketing tricks of all times, the con was, these people acting like addicts weren't actually addicts, they were actually being UNDER PRESCRIBED pain relief so they were seeking it elsewhere, so the recommended treatment for it was to give them more and higher doses of that crap, just so more of the expensive pills were sold, pure fucking evil, no two ways about it

[@oscaranderson5719]

@@patrickdix772they totally know they’re bullshitting, it’s just one of those things where they have to either lie through their teeth or go “yeah we’re actively trying to get people hooked on opium”.

[@jf_knows_nothing]

There is a documentary about the British in Africa in WW2. There’s a quote the guy say ”we only took amphetamines and could sleep during the day, Germans took Methamphetamine and could never sleep”.

[@gorbalsboy]

Their might have been limited use especially in extreme temperatures and extraordinary situations,they were part of aircrew survival kits (benzedrine)and jungle kits in the army,but they would only have been issued with agreement from the unit medical officer,don't know about the Germans(have the feeling they would be available by underhand methods)

[@richardaubrecht2822]

@@gorbalsboy During the Polish campaign the German army gave Pervitin away like if it was chocolate, but soon they discovered that a quite large portion of their men was too much onto that stuff. So they started issuing it only to those who had a serious reason, like pilots, tank crews during prolonged assaults and sentries in enemy territory. But since Pervitin was also freely sold in civilian apothecaries, many soldiers simply wrote home so their families could send them some of the good stuff.

[@MichaelGalt]

US pilots and some of the rangers were known for having "go pills". I think everyone was taking them (by that, I mean, Axis and Allies). Did Germans do it more? 🤷🏼‍♂️ Probably. Much more willing to use experimental stuff, much more motivated to win/not lose.

[@acmelka]

In WW2 late European theater, GIs with shell shock were given 'blue 88s' a phenobarbital thing, slept for 2 days, given a shot of amphetamine and sent back to the line.

[@tigroonicolas4991]

That’s called PERVITIN

[@DJMarcO138]

A couple of Hash facts: 1. It's not powdered marijuana leaves - it's the powdery THC crystals that dry on the outside of the flower, gathered and pressed into a sort of powdery cake or clay sort of consistency. 2. Hash does not make you hallucinate - it IS psychoactive, but you'd have to ingest quite a bit to get it to trigger any sort of hallucinations.

[@SECONDQUEST]

Yeah I was incredibly confused. THC is not going to get you tripping balls. Even more so if you are a person who uses it often.

[@andrewmacdonald1103]

I wouldn't give it to soldiers. Unless you want them to sit down, eat, and listen to good music.

[@shannonm.townsend1232]

Lebanese blonde

[@BassicBear]

Read number 2 again and quit doing drugs.

[@DJMarcO138]

@@BassicBear I suggest you fellate me.

[@wouter.de.ruiter]

The Dutch expression for Dutch courage is "jenevermoed". Literally: gin courage

[@robertc.9503]

The phrase I often hear in the US is "liquid courage".

[@knutzzl]

Ja wij Hollanders zijn een beetje gek... Taking the edge off of your nerves, you drink a small glass of jenever (gin)

[@shryggur]

There's a lot negative sayings about the Dutch since the Anglo-Dutch Wars: Dutch leave, going Dutch, Dutch wife, Dutch comfort, etc. Stereotyping is helluva thing lol

[@wouter.de.ruiter]

@@shryggur Meh, it's just sour grapes on the part of the British. After all: we Dutch managed to conquer Great-Britain and even put a Dutchman on their throne. Something they never managed to do to us.😜

[@boop3259]

@@shryggurI wonder if that’s the source of the phrase Dutch Oven

[@bellakaldera3305]

For the Assassins, the hashish was used for indoctrination, where a recruit would be brought to a place and told it was Paradise, then given citrus, wine and hashish, then when the mark passes out, the luckless agent is told that they have had a vision of Paradise and to return to it they must do "this thing", which doesn't suggest that anybody tried to assassinate a target on hashish, just that they might have done so to get back to a place where they could HAVE hashish. Really good hashish may even be worth it!

[@julianshepherd2038]

You never see a fight in a cannabis cafe.

[@101Mant]

I've heard the story but also repeatedly that the whole thing is a myth. While they were a real sect who controlled several fortresses and did assassinate people all the stuff about the drugs and paradise has no actual evidence and came about later.

[@LoLotov]

Was going to post roughly this, nice. They're very interesting just as a cult, let alone their cool reputation and actions.

[@stripeytawney822]

I keep reading that in a high pitched voice "hashSHEESH"!!

[@nevisysbryd7450]

However, scholarship tends to regard that etymology as invalid or at least very dubious. While it is an old hypothesis, it has very little evidence afaik.

[@Miiabooish]

In the closing stages of WW2, the war of Lapland between Finland and Germany saw extensive use of Pervitin (the infamous methamphetamine product), but also loads of alcohol. In battle of Tornio (might have been another battle in the war), Finnish troops found liquor confiscated by the Germans as loot and started drinking heavily, despite direct orders not to. German veterans from this event described some of the Finnish soldiers charging their position in drunken rage with knives and hatchets (presumably because aiming their rifles became too difficult). So as I understand it, you had Nazis high on meth vs. absolutely wasted Finns charging in melee, with high casualties on both sides.

[@thomasrussell7135]

The Germans also had as a battle field narcotics cigarettes laced with opium that they abused regularly

[@Oxtocoatl13]

Obligatory mention of Aimo Koivunen, who accidentally ate his entire squad's supply of Pervitin, before skiing for hundreds of miles high as a kite. He also stepped on a mine, ate a raw bird and somehow survived.

[@hyperteleXii]

And thus excessive consumption of booze and speed are cultural health baggage still carried to this day, only eclipsed by coffee and tobacco.

[@geordiejones5618]

​@@Oxtocoatl13HOW is this story not a major motion picture??

[@andrewom679]

​@@hyperteleXiiCoffee and tobacco still make the army run.

[@OBXDewey]

In America we call it liquid courage. A lot of the time it is used in the context that someone has too much to drink at the bar, feels brave, and gets his butt kicked. Good times.

[@andymason1324]

“He loved his drugs did Hitler” 😂😂😂😂 best quote of the day Thanks Matt you cheered me up 🙏

[@MasterFatness]

Gave me a laugh too, and he certainly did love his drugs 😂

[@julianshepherd2038]

Meth in the morning, cocaine in the afternoon and barbiturates to sleep.

[@chroma6947]

@@julianshepherd2038 He loved oxy

[@julianshepherd2038]

​@@chroma6947and other opiods. And people kept following his orders.

[@julianshepherd2038]

Did you read Blitzed

After the WW2 some of the Finnish veterans were unknowingly addicted to methamphetamine, which was given to them when extra effort was needed. And it was needed a lot at the last stages of the war with the Soviets. The drug was called Pervitin and it was also sold for civilians. After the war methamphetamine was changed to mixture of aspirin and caffeine which made many older people wonder why the drug did not work as it used to. Sometimes people still find old Pervitin caches in old houses where it was hidden by veterans and others.

[@galloe8933]

Or they find old uppers in MREs for pilots during the second world war. Not that they are cheap, so it would just be easier to buy drugs from the wild, only yeah meth tablets in pilot food.

[@YanoshRagauld]

One of pervitins nick names was "pilot chocolate",

[@Levacque]

People often want to credit the strength of the German war machine for the success of the Blitzkrieg, which yes it was responsible, but there's absolutely no way it could have happened without Pervitin. Those drivers and pilots literally didn't stop what they were doing for three days, engineers on meth were throwing up bridges in 24 hours, soldiers ate Pervitin wafers instead of rations because they could stop less for bathroom breaks. Doctors who had already experienced the burnout from overuse in their civilian jobs had set daily consumption limits for the armed forces, but of course nobody paid attention to that If you look at the typical timeline for decline caused by methamphetamine addiction and compare it to the gradually increasing difficulty Germany had maintaining the war, you see an unsurprising parallel. The civilians and entire armed forces were burning out within a couple years.

[@herptek]

I'm not sure if such accounts are true or not because the Finns did not have any great grudges against the Germans and were not very motivated to prosecute the Lapland war very effectively. Usually the idea was to force the Germans to leave their positions by outmaneuvring them instead of trying to kill them. Also no one wanted to be killed in this useless war against the former brothers in arms at this last moment. The main motive for conducting the war effectively in the first place was the risk that if that if Finland did not secure the sovereign territory first then the Soviets would and might not leave without another war. That being said, pervitin was widely used by Finnish long range reconnaissance patrols during the continuation war, not for extra courage in combat but to enhance endurance at forced marches beyond ordinary human limits during exfiltrations from behind enemy lines while being pursued. Combined with the effects of PTSD, this caused quite a bit addiction problems for the former LRRP men after the war.

[@AtomikGround]

What I heard about the Hashasheen was that the drug was used when introducing new converts to the cult. They were shown a paradise in the mountains (it does look quite delightful from the pictures) and believed the only way they could access it again was to become martyrs for their leader. Thinking about it now it does seem improbable, but it conveys the idea that maybe hashish was not to do with their operations, but rather their culture, ideology or faith.

[@TheFencingFox]

Neat💚😊

[@couchcamperTM]

it makes sense, since hash usually relaxes you, to the point where you get sleepy, and it does not make you go berzerk at all.

[@stocktonjoans]

@@couchcamperTM but if you're an assassin on a covet mission in enemy territory to take out a single target, it'd be much better to be chilled the fuck out on some nice hash rather than foaming at the mouth from the gods know what

[@couchcamperTM]

@@stocktonjoans believe me you don't want to be stoned on such a job. after it's done - sure.

[@stocktonjoans]

@@couchcamperTM you learnt that camping on your couch did you?

[@radianman]

Let’s not forget the Japanese Kamikaze pilots, who were often literally as high as kites.

[@wouter.de.ruiter]

but coming down fast...

[@ChadOfAllChads]

The crash is the worst part

[@pepepepito623]

W/ a ceremonial cup of sake?

[@AnimeSunglasses]

​@@pepepepito623 The Japanese forces issued methamphetamine quite widely, much like the Germans did.

[@codycarter7638]

Chadofallchads, great comment!

[@joemck74]

I appreciate it's not your niche, but the occasional video about the external pressures/influences on historical combat are very interesting.

[@corybourn8947]

The VA had me on morphine for four years after I was wounded in Iraq in 2007. Worst time of my life coming off that. I can tell you that the American grunt runs on Copenhagen and caffeine. Interesting topic as always Matt. Cheers!

[@julianshepherd2038]

Can't you get tea?

[@bartolomeothesatyr]

That withdrawing yourself from dependency on prescribed pain medication was an even worse experience than the combat wound that necessitated the prescription in the first place is really saying something.

[@lakrids-pibe]

Hello from the city of Copenhagen. "Copenhagen" is a brand of dipping tobacco, isn't it? We don't have it here. Haha!

[@jacklonghearse9821]

Copenhagen and Grizzly is still big, but a lot of grunts use Zyns and vapes now.. against the LT and CO. Commanders wishes of course because everyone's becoming semi-health conscious. I used to wrap my vapes in black tape so that it'd look just like a rifle grip while in the field. Easy to palm and pass around without getting caught. (I'd get NJPed if I got caught, but never did) I had several friends who would bring weed pens into the field during the super long field ops where people knew they wouldn't be drug tested for weeks. I knew guys who used coke as gym PT pre-workout at the barracks. Psychedelic use is also rampant at the barracks and I genuinely think it very effectively helps grunts deal with depression and death anxiety (I know from experience). Bangs and Celsius energy drinks are still huge. I'm still very much addicted to caffeine.. Oorah

[@codycarter7638]

I STILL run on caffeine, but I’m a Kodiak man, myself. (Seabee here)

[@robhogg68]

There's an additional bit of context in colonial wars (in particular), which I'd argue is more important than "culture": The soldiers on one side are thousands of miles from home, some fighting for "Queen and Country" but many for pay, and really hoping to get back to the friends and families they have left behind. If they are wounded, they may get sent back to a peaceful retirement with a pension. The people on the other side are fighting to defend their homes and the life they have known. If they fail, they face the possibility of going back to find their villages burned, and/or spending the rest of their lives labouring in servitude to the invader, even execution as "rebels". How many would not fight harder, risk more, to defend their own home?

[@baddestmaninthevalley1607]

Thinking the exact same thing.

[@vorynrosethorn903]

In some contexts, it wasn't uncommon at all that colonial forces were fighting a defensive war against raiders or the like, these guys also fought hard, indeed they were some of the hardest fighters as they came from warrior societies with a culture of heroism and social rewards for it and expectations of it. The British and other colonial forces liked hiring such people's as a result, and they certainly weren't the type to be passively acted upon, if they hadn't been subsumed they almost certainly would have continued to raid their neighbours, and indeed a lot of colonial policing went in to trying to limit it even then.

[@NMahon]

​@vorynrosethorn903 but they weren't really fighting defensive wars though, if I steal your land and you try kick me out I'm still the offender

[@Willy_Tepes]

@@NMahon Like Israel.

[@shannonm.townsend1232]

I was thinking this also

[@ewanhopper4275]

I dunno if you watched the lindybeige interviews with a soldier who fought in the Ukrainian foreign legion. But he brought up an interesting point that in modern warfare particularly bombardment, smoking tobacco is almost a necessity because it gives you something to focus on when you’re being shelled besides “is the next one gonna kill me or worse.”

[@markjoachen]

Well you don't ever wanta see wat I saw recently and I think I better not say anymore too

[@scotty430]

​@@markjoachen Now I'm curious.. feel free to elaborate if you're comfortable 🙏

[@Willy_Tepes]

Nicotine reduces stress.

[@user-rp4iv2gl9x]

i am a raver and a medieval enthusiast i find this video very pleasant thank you

[@Levacque]

I'd love for this kind of talk to be presented at music festivals. Enough people would be into it.

[@Valkanna.Nublet]

I remember hearing a quote ages ago that I believe was from an American fighting in the Philipines (paraphrased maybe): "You can shoot them multiple times with a .38 and they'll keep coming, stab you, then succumb to their wounds. But if you shoot them with a .45 they fall over right away."

[@AdlerMow]

Before someone do confuse, the caliber in the quote is .38 long colt, not .38 special, that is more powerful and is a reaction to that. The .38 spc have killed more people than most other handgun caliber, with the exception of maybe the 9mm parabellum

[@mattjack3983]

​​@@AdlerMowYou are correct. The .38special would be pretty high up there. 9mm is at least as high up as the .38special. But I think that the caliber responsible for killing the most people is actually the .22LR

[@mattjack3983]

​​@@AdlerMowLol my grandpa used to always say about the .22LR.."Everyone has a .22. It's cheap..you can find it just about everywhere..and it will kill pretty much anything living." Lol it just doesn't have much actual stopping power. But being "inefficient" and "ineffective" are two different things. Neither are ideal, but one will get job done, just may not be as quickly as you'd like lol.

[@stripeytawney822]

​@@mattjack3983like a realtor says- Location location location.

[@pepepepito623]

With the Moros was Holly fervor and patriotism...

[@Damienx247]

I'm amazed Matt didn't dress for the Dune meme: "War" while on drugs."

[@titanscerw]

Are you talking about a jihad, my fellow Fremen? Ya hya chouhada!

[@ianwinter514]

you don't need fuel for your Panzer if you have Hans and 3 rations of Pervitin

[@JH-lo9ut]

"Marching powder" Still popular in the Berlin nightclubs for, ehm, "long marches".

[@minecraft2895]

Hashish isn’t that strong of a drug. It’s basically just concentrated cannabis and with the tech they had back then it would’ve been even less potent than today. For reference, regular hashish these days is usually around 50% THC. Stronger modern cannabis extracts go around 90%, and I can assure you it’s not hallucinogenic. Back then they would’ve been lucky to get 15-20% hash. Keep in mind that THC isn’t the only psychoactive molecule in cannabis but it’s still a good metric to use as an example in this case. And yes when I’m talking about « regular hashish » I mean the black sticky stuff, not extracts you need to dab

[@raics101]

It was probably mixed with rat poison or who knows what, like what they gave that guy who won the St. Louis marathon in 1904 :)

[@thekaxmax]

The tech involved is careful breeding for THC content that happened relatively recently

[@samuelgarrod8327]

Eating it is very different from smoking it

[@andymason1324]

@@samuelgarrod8327 not alf 🫠

[@pietrosigismondodelvalenti6371]

Caffeine is a psychoactive stimulant... Always flies under the radar.

[@mr_cleavers_monsters]

"He loved his drugs, did Hitler!" That's the quote of the day, Mr Easton!

[@mg_claymore8611]

A quick dip into our Bolivian marching powder, and we're back on the street. 😊

[@docnightfall]

Gotta point out, Matt, that alcohol isn't technically a stimulant. It's a depressant. The peculiar thing about it is that it INITIALLY depresses inhibitions, then later depresses more general functions. This is why when people drink, they will often first get talkative and rowdy, then eventually get real slow and sleepy.

[@imperialus1]

You aren't wrong, but typically the way alcohol was used in European armies was immediately prior to going into action. Basically pass around the flask while giving a little speech before turning around, drawing your sword and ordering the line forward. Naturally not everywhere but I remember an account of Blucher doing something like that at Leipzig I think. Big thing for the Royal Navy too. Makes sense too since the pace of navel combat meant that you had lots of warning before the cannonballs started blasting the hull and a drink or two probably did a lot to calm the nerves too.

[@terrycruise-zd5tw]

@@imperialus1 in the navy drinking alcohol makes sense because theyd need to mix alcohol with their water supply so that it kills the bacteria from growing in it, otherwise their water would eventually go bad at sea.

[@Seelenschmiede]

In Germany there is the saying "sich Mut antrinken", translates to "trinking for gaining bravery"

[@laserpanda94]

​@@Seelenschmiede In Britain we use the term 'Dutch courage' to mean the same thing. Not sure where it comes from but it seems to imply the Dutch need a drink before doing anything courageous 😄

[@callumclark3358]

@@SeelenschmiedeOne of the more clunky German sayings.

[@etiennesharp]

I'd always heard that 'Dutch courage' was a pejorative in that it implied that the sailors from the Netherlands required to be drunk before they'd fight. I.e. they needed something to bolster their nerves.

[@tommeakin1732]

I'd always taken it as being like "you need to drink to have balls. Sad :^)" Fleeting and false hardiness

[@EriktheRed2023]

I seem to recall that the idea of the initial assassins was that they were given hallucinogens and admitted into pleasure gardens as an incentive to do dangerous missions.

[@terminallyonline5296]

Right, not during a mission, but rather promised being high at all other times.

[@julianshepherd2038]

Giving someone hallucinations during an assassination attempt might affect their judgement.

[@101Mant]

I've heard the idea. Basically they would be given drugs and women and pleasure, then have it taken away and told to go do a suicide assassination mission and when they die for the cause (the assassins were a Islamic splinter group) they would go to paradise and get it all back. I don't think there is any actual evidence though so it may all be a historical myth.

[@hic_tus]

i really can't see an assassin being high on weed or hash on a mission, he might stop at the first shop to grab a wrap or something and then take a nap. also "who was i supposed to kill? was it the barber or the chief of police? ah screw it i'll do it tomorrow." hahahah yeah maybe it was a reward to calm down and relax afterwards, it sounds more likely.

[@lakrids-pibe]

I remember reading about the pleasure gardens in old issues of Tarzan magazine. ...or was it the Phantom?

[@mechaman7818]

/hiss "Ahh, that's the stuff." "Let's rock and roll." "Slammin'."

[@riverraven7359]

Just a clarification, the Man Stopper bullets Churchill refers to are flat headed lead bullets designed to flatten into a wide disk on impact and pulp internal organs, rather than punch straight through a body leaving a neat hole.

[@maduyn]

It is always taken for granted how incredibly durable the human body is, it can continue for far longer under more stress and damage than most people give credit. Unless a person is damaged in the central nervous system, the heart or bleeds out it can continue moving and acting. The evidence is there from accounts of medal winners in war about how much a determined person can do while under injury.

[@bartolomeothesatyr]

Those caveats about the central nervous and cardiopulmonary systems are significant, though. Perfectly sober and healthy young people die fairly regularly from head and neck injuries after slipping and falling in the shower. Human bodies can be stronger than steel, but at the same time more fragile than glass.

[@Serahpin]

@@bartolomeothesatyr Like a prince rupert's drop, it's all about where you hit it.

[@stocktonjoans]

it really is just a meat robot keeping squishy bits safe

[@stocktonjoans]

@@bartolomeothesatyr pretty sure that disproves the whole "Intelligent Design" theory. If we really were designed by a super intelligent being with perfect knowledge . . . you wouldn't be able to crack a skull by dropping it from about 6 foot on to something reasonably firm

[@mrrooter601]

@@stocktonjoans what if thats just a failsafe then? :) wouldnt want a bunch of unkillable terminators running around

[@benjaminstevens4468]

Khat is a stimulant, not a psychedelic or hallucinogen, neither is hashish, which also isn’t powdered cannabis leaf, it’s the trichromes, gathered from the surface of the flowers and “sweet leaf.”

[@PhilMasters]

How effective a stimulant is qat? From what I’ve read, governments in East Africa seem to regard it as a curse because it leaves users to relaxed to get any work done, to the point that they have to use a strong coffee chaser to take the edge off.

[@benjaminstevens4468]

@@PhilMasters it’s main active ingredient is cathinone, very similar to amphetamine.

[@TheSaneHatter]

I’m reminded of the demonstration that my fellow cast members gave, when I worked at the Bristol Renaissance fair in Wisconsin: describing how English armies hired German landedknechts to charge the enemy pike blocks, they pointed out that these men were only paid half their salary before the battle… in ale and opium, “so they didn’t mind quite as much.” After the battle, when there were less of them, they were paid in gold.

[@ecthelionalfa]

During chile vs peru-bolivia war (pacific war) in the battle of El morro de Arica, chilean troops used "Chupilca del diablo" a mixture of aguardiente and gunpowder, they where able to climb the thing and take the fortification in like a day or less

[@bartolomeothesatyr]

Aside from adding the tastes of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal to their aguardiente, what was the gunpowder supposed to do? It wouldn't have any psychoactive effects beyond alcohol inebriation from the aguardiente, it would just make their aguardiente taste like mierda.

[@user-yy3gm2ub2i]

​@@bartolomeothesatyr it was probably a placebo effect just because gunpowder was associated with power abd warfare and to a superstitious mind you could see how it could be thought to have magic or alchemical properties.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

@@bartolomeothesatyr Gunpowder does have effect when ingested. They give it to fighting dogs to make them meaner and also given to child soldiers in Africa for the same reason. Not sure why it works, but it does.

[@bartolomeothesatyr]

@@huwhitecavebeast1972 I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess "placebo effect" or "induced mass hysteria", because there's nothing psychoactive in or about gunpowder or more modern smokeless firearm propellants. I could see nitrocellulose propellants having a dilatant effect on the circulatory system when ingested, given that nitroglycerin is used medically for that purpose, but that isn't something that would enhance battle performance, it'd just make you more likely to bleed out if injured.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

@@bartolomeothesatyr So the pitbulls are experiencing the placebo effect? Lol how ridiculous. Things don't have to be psychoactive to increase aggression. It can just be an irritant.

[@P-Mouse]

brings new meaning to experimental archeology

[@Billions_and_billions]

"War on drugs" : 😢 "War, on drugs" : 🎉

[@samoilenko3887]

Very interesting topic. I’m currently gm-ing an ttrpg where there are plenty of different drugs to use for warriors, but because of my lack of expertise i really cannot give realistic enough effects of the narcotic use. Thank you for putting light on the topic, you being able to talk more than just about melee weapons really is the thing that makes your channel unique and cool!

[@ivanthemadvandal8435]

My favorite story of war time drug use was a Finn during WW2. He and his squad were being chased by the Soviets and he was on point, he accidentally popped his squads entire stash, when they evaded the reds he just randomly skied away from his squad, went on a week long bender and was found over 100 miles away with his resting heart rate still through the roof

[@scottanos9981]

Dude was hallucinating too and would snap in and out of reality while skiing for days!

[@richtheunstable3359]

Fought off imaginary bears while he was at it. Unfortunately the mines were real but a couple of explosions couldnt stop him.

[@NealBurkard-ut1oo]

One the craziest story I've ever heard. The dude skied through the soviet encampment twice, just kept going

[@philparkinson462]

Fascinating video Matt. Let's not forget, Flashman would never have led that rocket battery attack without the hashish 😂

[@philparkinson462]

Also explains why Fred Burnaby carried a shotgun in The Sudan..although rather infra dig 😂

[@hulkthedane7542]

An absolute treat, this video. Thank you, Matt. 👍💪💪

[@AlexanderCornel]

Great video, very interesting Matt! Thanks 🙏

[@SkepticalCaveman]

Berserkers got their name from the bearskin coats. That was I was thought in school, here in Sxandinavia.

[@viator21]

As a lifelong hunter, I’ve had animals hit through the lungs and heart act like they got bit by a mosquito and go back to doing what they were doing until blood loss and drop of blood pressure makes them fall over, most collapse when hit with the same shot placement. There’s definitely an undefinable factor to how mammals behave when mortally wounded.

[@Digital_Nomad_Media]

When you're such an ignorant person that you think hashish is a hallucinogen and that alcohol and tobacco cause the least harm 🤣 this is how ridiculous your video turns out

[@SusCalvin]

From what you and other hunters describe, it sounds like the animal doesn't necessarily understand the concept of internal bleeding and gunfire. If you were up in their face waving a spear they might be more agitated.

[@jessebechtold2973]

Great video as always!

[@tchetchiphyllos4536]

Great topic and great video, thank you! Just wanted to add that "Khat" one of the popular names given to Catha Edulis, a plant native to East Africa and the Arabic Peninsula, is a strong natural stimulant and has absolutely no hallucinogenic effects. It increases focus and energy, inhibits appetite and has been used as a performance drug for millenia. It is still widely used today, mainly in the regions to which it is native, either for enhancing performance or recreationally in social settings. It's quite popular in Yemen, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and various Middle Eastern countries. Culturally it's very similar to how Coca Leaves have been used in Central and South America by native populations. You would be surprised of how strong it is for a simple "natural plant". :)

[@Oldtanktapper]

I’m pretty sure that the old documentary ‘A Bad Trip to Edgewood’ is on KZbin somewhere. It looks at various aspects of testing drugs with a view to assessing military use, in particular as incapacitating agents.

[@stocktonjoans]

seeing that bunch of squaddies break ranks and trip balls in the wood is one of the most delightful things I've ever seen.

[@TheGoodCrusader]

Getting hopped up on diet coke and jolly ranchers

[@stripeytawney822]

Cinnamon ranchers and hot damn.... No can defend!

[@MF-mt3oq]

Great video Matt, lots to be discussed in more depth, but excellent content! It's still a rather taboo subject I think, but it's also essential to understand society in general, and military history (and present) as well. Thanks and cheers!

[@grndragon7777777]

This is a fantastic topic. Thank you.

[@robertvondarth1730]

Berserkers… The Amanita Muscaria isn’t a classic hallucinogen. More of a deliriant dissociative at high doses. At moderate doses they significantly both suppress fear and pain. They also can have a stimulant quality dependent upon how they are processed, or depressant effect. Combined with some sort of spiritual ritual, it could be assumed that a magical dream like state is achieved.

[@nevisysbryd7450]

It is not a classic hallucinogen because the difference between a psychoactive dosage and a lethal dosage are almost the same. Whatever substances _some_ berserkers and ulfednar _sometimes_ used, it was not likely that particular mushroom.

[@robertvondarth1730]

@@nevisysbryd7450 Untrue. A very misunderstood mushroom. No one has verifiably died from Amanita Muscaria . I’ve used it hundreds of times with no ill effects., for its pain relief. It’s been used for thousands of years. It has a wide range of effects depending on how it’s processed and dosage. It’s less toxic than alcohol

[@garymackie5608]

My experience of fly agaric mushroom they would be terrible in combat the uncontrolled mussel twitching and perception of how large or small things are would be a disadvantage

[@robertvondarth1730]

@@garymackie5608 They need to be processed in a specific way to reduce the negative effects. And are dose dependent.

[@Rayshard.Oblique777]

I read somewhere that the Kamikaze used amphetamines too. Wasn't there also a type used in Vietnam called 'Dexamphetamine' (special forces popcorn) that also made soldiers more aggressive? It was mentioned in a novel called 'Sympathy For the Devil'. Regarding the order of assasins in the medieval middle East I have always read that the hashish seemed to be used as a reward, along with the odalisques, rather than being performance enhancing. And weren't that sect enemies of Saladin? Anyway, interesting vid.

[@RoseyDiane]

Odalisques would be essential in the reward system.

[@Rayshard.Oblique777]

The 'old man of the mountain' looked after his hitmen, the Nizari Ismaili....

[@RoseyDianaCross]

@@Rayshard.Oblique777 Those lucky Odalisques haha.x

[@landleven1088]

Dexamphetamine is what you can get described if you have ADHD and the ritalin is not good enough for you...

[@brassbandmission1643]

Oh, been waiting for this!

[@eotia879]

Thank you Matt for this enlightening introduction into this topic. I would love a more in-depth work concerning the use of stimulants in military during earlier periods.

[@willsheive]

"Bloke with the spear said e's sellin pingers £30 per. Absolutely mental!"

[@Baron-Ortega]

LOL

[@julianshepherd2038]

Does he think it is 1989

[@tiltskillet7085]

Also, just me, or does it seem like this video was narrated at 1.25x normal Easton speed? lol.

[@dylanbrady5926]

Thanks for the interesting video!

[@anillchandi]

Great video!! 👍🏽👍🏽

[@kremepye3613]

Apparently Julius Ceaser used to do fat lines of Charlie before battles and napoleon loved doing bumps of Ket after a big battle

[@VikingTeddy]

Everyone else is powdering their nose before combat. But I can't have any, nooo. Because "I fell in a cauldron of yay as a kid!" It's bullshit I say!

[@darthplagueis13]

Not saying it's impossible that Caesar did any drugs, but cocaine is american in origin. They didn't have it in ancient Rome.

[@tiltskillet7085]

Matt, any plans to put all of this to the test at FightCamp?

[@jf_knows_nothing]

That would be a real test 😂

[@robertallencad1]

Brilliant as always sir

[@Harry-bc2dn]

Very interesting topic!

[@readtruth6670]

A form of Φαρμακεία And militaries still do this even today.

[@homelessman3483]

Pharmakeia?

[@readtruth6670]

Yep. Typically rendered ‘sorcery’ in English, but essentially the discipline relies heavily on drugs that do various things for not-so-good purposes.

[@peterdunkel8646]

American, heard of Irish courage (exact same meaning). Never dutch

[@thekaxmax]

Cos the Dutch were economically important in America when it was coined, but the Irish weren't.

[@baltasartranconywidemann5129]

That would be Irish coffee

[@irenehigginbotham6392]

Thank you for reporting.

[@camilstoenescu]

Does fighting drunk count?

[@thekaxmax]

Yes. Dutch courage is that

[@TheGoodCrusader]

Weapons grade meth 😂

[@Serahpin]

Weapons grade assumes it's meant to kill. I think you mean "military grade."

[@DjDolHaus86]

@@Serahpin Military grade just means the cheapest stuff that'd do the job

[@Serahpin]

@@DjDolHaus86 So.... military grade.

[@DjDolHaus86]

@@Serahpin Fair point 😂

[@corro202]

Great video.

[@stripeytawney822]

That taffle/chess piece with the footsoldier biting his shield is my favorite game piece ever!!

[@TheBoiseKiwi]

Bro, hashish is powdered hemp leaves? You lost all credibility there. After classifying alcohol as a stimulant and khat as a hallucigen, that broke the camel's back. Poor form all round mate.

[@SusCalvin]

What was early hashish like? My guess was that they didn't have the full refinement methods we got.

[@kremepye3613]

The ancient greeks used to sniff glue before going into battle

[@thekaxmax]

Which glue? Noting that glues at the time were boiled animal connective tissue or plant gum.

[@kremepye3613]

@thekaxmax super glue I think or sometimes they would use loctite

[@fatmatt1746]

Great video

[@sirseigan]

THANK YOU Matt for not taking the easy way out and repeat the often mentioned but totally unfounded specualtion (a Swedish researcher once did at a dinner party some 200 years ago after a trip to Siberia) that the "Viking" berserkers was high on red fly agaric. Extremly refreshing!! (Not saying that they were not high on red fly agaric; I am saying that there is little to nothing found that are supporting that. It is a speculation, a hypothesis at best, not a scientific theory and certaintly not a fact - the one saying it the first time would be, and was, the first to admit that. We just do not know.)

[@marcusmorgan4787]

Don't come here for information on drugs.

[@DzinkyDzink]

A communist would explain the civillized/barbarous behavior in such a way: A civilized soldier is a draftee or a mercenary. Someone with very little on the line in the actual battle except for his own life. Thus they fight with self preservation in mind. A barbarous warrior is an opressed colonial aboriginal who had been driven to fight for freedom or downright survival and has everything on the line. Thus they fight until they can no longer physically fight.

[@ethanbaker137]

That doesn't strike me as a particularly communist explanation, that just sounds pretty reasonable lol warriors and soldiers have forever been different animals despite how similar they may seem

[@allengordon6929]

​@@ethanbaker137that observation has predated communism and has been recorded as long as there has been recorded war.

[@ArkadiBolschek]

I don't think you have to be a communist to arrive at that explanation 😄

[@kailashblades]

Don't think I've ever learned more from one of your videos! Super interesting stuff. Really funny to hear you say METH! also

[@D.Cooper420]

Hasheesh is made from the resin found mainly in the cannabis flower buds, not powdered hemp flower.

[@Tatianabella45]

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[@evelynHicks-wd5kh]

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[@Tatianabella45]

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[@Tatianabella45]

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[@janeaustin3334]

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[@hildonnschoeman4591]

This was really good .

[@crashcabinet]

RE assassins, As an experienced psycho naught I can tell you in mid level quantities if you can get used to the visual hallucinations you gain a much greater clarity and sensual awareness.

[@bryn494]

Your Churchill reading, where you mentioned hunting, brought back The Lewis and Clarke description of why The Grizzly was so fearsome :D

[@bryn494]

Also, rum was issued to purify the water; human nature explains other uses ;)

[@robm4834]

Khat is a stimulant similar to cocaine, leaves chewed by locals. , beetlenut is another from PNG. Zulus used a "snuff" type powder, made by their medicine man, dried and powdered mushrooms (psychedelic kind) was part of the snuff mix

[@toddcampbell-crow8615]

Something that I heard from a enthusiast of Japanese history in the society for creative anachronism is the Japanese armies with travel with cauldrons and with a type of rice that had been partially boiled and then dried to cook more quickly. On the eve of a battle, after the cauldrons had been used to cook rice for the soldiers, they would be filled with more of the partially cooked rice and water and left to ferment overnight; the resulting beer would be something like a 3% alcohol drink. The soldiers, who rarely drank, might have a few cups and go into battle with a buzz.

[@not-a-theist8251]

Interesting topic. Id love to see a video about weapons control as you mentioned

[@robertfaucher3750]

I know I'm late but as the good Bob Marley said "I smoke two joints in times of peace, and two in times of war. I smoke two joints before I smoke two joints, and then I smoke two more".

[@aaron6178]

Howdy, army veteran here. In my experience in the 2000s, steroids, ganja and alcohol were the overwhelming go to for performance/relaxation/therapy, in that order. It is, as you indicated, par for the course. Good doco, cheers Matt!.

[@Clearlight201]

Confounding the issue a little is the fact that some warriors (notably Native American but also Mongolian, Scandinavian, Islamic, and Celtic to name but a few) have claimed to be getting their battle strength from occult forces - animal spirits, guardians, demonic or spirit entities, or from their religious faith. Any of these may or may not have used drugs to access such forces. Whether your mind is open to the possibility of such entities will determine what you conclude. Nevertheless the drugs in these cases, if used, played only perhaps a secondary role to the belief system or energy source / entity to which they attributed their power.

[@mikeorick6898]

In the US military "Ranger Candy" was used to describe the painkillers they handed out. Mostly Motrin, but mission creep has seen it used to describe other drugs (pain killers and stimulants) that are used (officially and not) to keep the tough going when the going gets tougher.

[@thothtahuti5509]

More in-depth on the subject would be fantastic ❤

[@l0rf]

Wonderful video, Matt. It is perhaps a very sobering reminder (pun partly intended) that war is such a terrible thing, so horrifying to the human mind that in order to do it right, you have to pump yourself full of stimulants and dull the emotional suffering as much as the physical pain.

[@edi9892]

I think that you understated the role of cigarettes in warfare. It seems to be a massive morale boost and even though they are not the most addictive or strongest in terms of effect, many soldiers don't want to miss them and might very well have as their last action to light one up... I even heard the anecdote of a German soldier, who had his lower half missing, who still managed to get a cigarette out and take one puff before dying... I simply don't get it, but it really seems that important to them...

[@darthplagueis13]

Well, the difference there is that the main effect of cigarettes boils down to supressing nicotine withdrawal. There was a crazy amount of people addicted to cigarettes in the 20th century, which in turn means there was a crazy amount of people who would be absolutely miserable if they couldn't get their regular smokes. If someone who isn't addicted smokes a cigarette, it barely does anything for them, but for a smoker, it calms the nerves and makes them feel that they can breathe more easily. Cigarettes also were huge as a sort of pseudo-currency in places where money barely mattered, such as the frontlines, so even people who didn't smoke would still try to get a bunch of them to trade them for other things they wanted.

[@spudgunn8695]

Are you kidding me? Nicotine is one of the most psychologically addictive substances known to man. I knew a Heroin addict who could quit Smack with a Bootle of vodka and a handful of valium, but ask him to give up smoking? He'd say, "Not a f*cking chance!" Oddly enough, he died of liver cancer. Go figure!

[@edi9892]

@@spudgunn8695 From what I kept hearing, cocaine, morphine, etc. are more addictive, but as your anecdote proved, some people are different. There are people who just quit even highly addictive substances over night and without help.

[@danalden1112]

I remember that Harry Flashman experienced his most terrifying episode under the influence of hashish: he actually felt brave for the first time 😅

[@sergeykomarov2203]

At one time, I was the 2nd mate of the captain, when a man came up to me in Mexico and said, "Don't you want to earn $25,000? We need to transfer the drugs to Millock, which was our destination." I refused, the captain said it was a setup by the Mexican police. To be honest, in my career, I have been offered a lot of things to transport and I could have transported anything. I've never done a crime in my life, that's why I'm so poor.😂

[@ws1435]

Very interesting.

[@Way2Klose]

I can provide context on the hashish, once it’s not dried hemp or marijuana leaves, it’s the crystals pressed into a cake like substance. It doesn’t cause hallucinations per se, but it does alter your state of mind and relax you. So it would work to calm the mind of an assassin so they could stealthily blend in and storm a compound without being seen or discovered. I imagine there’s a lot of anxiety being an assassin walking through an unfamiliar compound while disguised as an enemy troop. But while high as a kite off that Mary Jane you would be so relaxed nobody would notice you’re an enemy. It’s the same today when gang members smoke or get high before a hit to calm their nerves. When you smoke often marijuana doesn’t impair your senses as much as you think it does, it just eases the mind. They likely took a small enough dose to calm down and complete the mission.

[@seankelly8226]

I’d love to hear more about drugs in ww1, hasn’t come up at all in the stuff I’ve read. Thanks.

[@declinetostate938]

I like to think in my small way I carry on the practice of the hashashin and Turkish gardening: I roll biguns and chief them while punching trails straight through the bush on the back 40, and accuracy strikes on the holdouts when clearing high spots in the yard.

[@willstevenson4843]

I picked up a 15-year (currently ongoing) marijuana habit/dependency when I started smoking hashish over halfway into a 12-month, combat heavy deployment in the mountains of northeastern Afghanistan. In hindsight, I wish I'd found a different method of coping with the stress, but for better or worse it was there and for all I know it might have kept me from going off the deep end during some pretty dark times.

[@SECONDQUEST]

If you really feel like you're using weed to cope with something then you should probably go to therapy dude. Combat isn't exactly easy on someone.

[@willstevenson4843]

@@SECONDQUEST I feel you. I was going to the VA about it for a while after I got out and, interestingly, every mental health doc I talked to told me to keep smoking if it helped, which of course it does to some extent. Also worth mentioning, I really never dealt with any long term PTSD from combat, but being in combat was the thing that precipitated my having picked up the habit of dealing with stress by getting high. I don't know when it went from being a habit to a dependency but I do know that I don't like the feeling of needing it to function normally.

[@SusCalvin]

Underworld types here, who live through periods of uncertainty, violence and stress with access to substances, describe taking those that can keep them calm over time. Like they use them to calm down and make it through the day by day by suppressing their moods.

[@Kindrin]

This is an interesting combat-related topic. Among a variety of questions this raises, I'd be curious to hear what stats on post-Victorian era military drug use is available.

[@nnelsonfatsurfer258]

There's written references about "Guerra del pacifico" (conflict between Chile vs Peru-Bolivia confederation 1800's) where Chilean soldiers are given "la chupilca del diablo" (the devil's sip or toast) which was basically moonshine mixed with gunpowder , to put them in a battle trance and perform better

[@andrewkelly6828]

Just spitballing on hash/assassins, but weed/hash has always calmed me down and made it easier for me to concentrate, and oddly, really improves my reaction time and hand eye coordination. It's not supposed to do that, but.. it does for me.

[@nakkna]

when testing and tier list for battle video?