Main content
Drugs in the Vietnam War
How fears of a heroin epidemic among US troops in Vietnam caused panic in the military
During the Vietnam war, US commanders grew increasingly concerned about the widespread use of drugs by US troops in Vietnam. Initially the focus was on marijuana. But in the early 1970s, reports began to emerge of the large scale use of heroin by US military personnel. The drug had became widely available in South Vietnam. Alex Last spoke to Dr Richard Ratner, then a psychiatrist in the US army in Vietnam, about his memories of treating soldiers suffering from heroin addiction.
Photo: Two soldiers in Vietnam exchange vials of heroin, July 1971 (Getty Images)
Last on
Fri 5 Feb 2021
03:50GMT
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
More episodes
Broadcasts
- Thu 4 Feb 2021 08:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Thu 4 Feb 2021 12:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Thu 4 Feb 2021 18:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Thu 4 Feb 2021 23:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Fri 5 Feb 2021 03:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
Podcast
-
![]()
Witness History
History as told by the people who were there
