The recent heroin overdose of an Australian Commando in Afghanistan last week has prompted the Aussie High Command to start drug testing the entire Special Operations Task Force in that theater. The Australian military regularly random drug tests its soldiers but with the prominence of heroin and the elevated risk of addiction, testing has been elevated. Facts point out that Afghanistan produces 93% of the world's opium, the key ingredient of heroin. Dr Alex Wodak, director of the Alcohol and Drug Service at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney says, "Drug use was a major problem for Soviet troops in Afghanistan and the US military is also now facing an increase in addiction." Dr Ben Wadham, an expert on army culture from Flinders University in South Australia concluded,"Drinking has always been an issue in the military and remains so, but even more so drugs become a way of young men dealing with the stressors of the military but also bonding together."
The recent heroin overdose of an Australian Commando in Afghanistan last week has prompted the Aussie High Command to start drug testing the entire Special Operations Task Force in that theater. The Australian military regularly random drug tests its soldiers but with the prominence of heroin and the elevated risk of addiction, testing has been elevated. Facts point out that Afghanistan produces 93% of the world's opium, the key ingredient of heroin. Dr Alex Wodak, director of the Alcohol and Drug Service at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney says, "Drug use was a major problem for Soviet troops in Afghanistan and the US military is also now facing an increase in addiction." Dr Ben Wadham, an expert on army culture from Flinders University in South Australia concluded,"Drinking has always been an issue in the military and remains so, but even more so drugs become a way of young men dealing with the stressors of the military but also bonding together."