Chapter 15 Intoxicants in Warfare

Since ancient times psychopharmacology has fuelled armed conflicts and sustained fighting men. The presence of psychoactive substances in warfare has taken on two general forms: (1) combatants have consumed various intoxicants recreationally, and (2) drugs have been “prescribed” by military authorit...

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Main Author: Kamieński, Łukasz
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis 2023
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Online Access:https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/75522
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author Kamieński, Łukasz
author_browse Kamieński, Łukasz
author_facet Kamieński, Łukasz
author_sort Kamieński, Łukasz
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Since ancient times psychopharmacology has fuelled armed conflicts and sustained fighting men. The presence of psychoactive substances in warfare has taken on two general forms: (1) combatants have consumed various intoxicants recreationally, and (2) drugs have been “prescribed” by military authorities as force multipliers for the improvement of combat performance. The chapter offers a general overview of these two modes of “war by intoxicants” yet with the main focus on the latter. It discusses the particular purposes of the military use of drugs, namely to: inspire courage and provide relief from the stress of battle; overcome fatigue and enhance performance; lessen the effects of war on the psyche; maintain morale and cohesion; and kill the boredom and monotony of military life. Aiming to draw a broader picture of battlefield drugs, it also explores another military role for them: as offensive psychochemical non-lethal weapons. Disorientation, indecisiveness, hallucinations, seizures and other similar intoxication-induced effects offer potential military capacity. Thus the efforts to weaponize toxic plants and psychoactive agents (such as atropine, opium, cannabis, or LSD) attempted to confuse, disrupt, or immobilize an enemy, or subvert and overpower their surrounding populations.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1127782025-03-12T16:00:54Z Chapter 15 Intoxicants in Warfare Kamieński, Łukasz Opioid Agonist Therapy,LGBTQ User,Young Men,ISIS Fighter,Post War,American Psychiatric Association,UK Prison,Syringe Sharing,Great Famine,Tough Training,LSD,Amanita Muscaria,Green Tea Powder,Army Chemical Corps,Healthy Office Workers,Chewing Coca Leaves,Agent Buzz,Psychoactive Agents,Ibotenic Acid,Siberian Tribes,Vice Versa Since ancient times psychopharmacology has fuelled armed conflicts and sustained fighting men. The presence of psychoactive substances in warfare has taken on two general forms: (1) combatants have consumed various intoxicants recreationally, and (2) drugs have been “prescribed” by military authorities as force multipliers for the improvement of combat performance. The chapter offers a general overview of these two modes of “war by intoxicants” yet with the main focus on the latter. It discusses the particular purposes of the military use of drugs, namely to: inspire courage and provide relief from the stress of battle; overcome fatigue and enhance performance; lessen the effects of war on the psyche; maintain morale and cohesion; and kill the boredom and monotony of military life. Aiming to draw a broader picture of battlefield drugs, it also explores another military role for them: as offensive psychochemical non-lethal weapons. Disorientation, indecisiveness, hallucinations, seizures and other similar intoxication-induced effects offer potential military capacity. Thus the efforts to weaponize toxic plants and psychoactive agents (such as atropine, opium, cannabis, or LSD) attempted to confuse, disrupt, or immobilize an enemy, or subvert and overpower their surrounding populations. 2023-08-17T04:10:30Z 2023-08-17T04:10:30Z 2023-08-15T07:45:56Z 2023 chapter https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/75522 9780367178703 9781032321486 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/112778 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/75522/1/9780429058141_10.4324_9780429058141-19.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/75522/8/9780429058141_10.4324_9780429058141-19.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/75522/8/9780429058141_10.4324_9780429058141-19.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/75522/8/9780429058141_10.4324_9780429058141-19.pdf Taylor & Francis Routledge 10.4324/9780429058141-19 10.4324/9780429058141-19 fa69b019-f4ee-4979-8d42-c6b6c476b5f0 Routledge Handbook of Intoxicants and Intoxication Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie 655a952b-27a1-47c0-8a94-5116e0f6b2bd 9780367178703 9781032321486 Routledge 20 open access
spellingShingle Opioid Agonist Therapy,LGBTQ User,Young Men,ISIS Fighter,Post War,American Psychiatric Association,UK Prison,Syringe Sharing,Great Famine,Tough Training,LSD,Amanita Muscaria,Green Tea Powder,Army Chemical Corps,Healthy Office Workers,Chewing Coca Leaves,Agent Buzz,Psychoactive Agents,Ibotenic Acid,Siberian Tribes,Vice Versa
Kamieński, Łukasz
Chapter 15 Intoxicants in Warfare
title Chapter 15 Intoxicants in Warfare
title_full Chapter 15 Intoxicants in Warfare
title_fullStr Chapter 15 Intoxicants in Warfare
title_full_unstemmed Chapter 15 Intoxicants in Warfare
title_short Chapter 15 Intoxicants in Warfare
title_sort chapter 15 intoxicants in warfare
topic Opioid Agonist Therapy,LGBTQ User,Young Men,ISIS Fighter,Post War,American Psychiatric Association,UK Prison,Syringe Sharing,Great Famine,Tough Training,LSD,Amanita Muscaria,Green Tea Powder,Army Chemical Corps,Healthy Office Workers,Chewing Coca Leaves,Agent Buzz,Psychoactive Agents,Ibotenic Acid,Siberian Tribes,Vice Versa
topic_facet Opioid Agonist Therapy,LGBTQ User,Young Men,ISIS Fighter,Post War,American Psychiatric Association,UK Prison,Syringe Sharing,Great Famine,Tough Training,LSD,Amanita Muscaria,Green Tea Powder,Army Chemical Corps,Healthy Office Workers,Chewing Coca Leaves,Agent Buzz,Psychoactive Agents,Ibotenic Acid,Siberian Tribes,Vice Versa
url https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/75522
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