INDEPTH: FRIENDLY FIRE
Go-pills, bombs & friendly fire
CBC News Online | Updated November 17, 2004
Early in the case, defence lawyers for the pilots said they would argue that the forcible use of the drug dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) – known on the street as “speed,” in the military as “go-pills” – was to blame for the "friendly fire" incident in April 2002. The lawyers use the term “forcible use,” meaning the pilots could be found unfit for the missions unless they agreed to take the pills.
Go-pills are routinely taken by pilots to keep them awake and alert on long missions. Major Harry Schmidt has said he flew seven 10-hour missions in the weeks preceding the April 18 sortie and had used the go-pills each time. At the time they dropped the bomb during nighttime live-fire exercises at Kandahar, Schmidt and his wingman Major William Umbach had been flying six hours.
On the matter of go-pills, Dr. Robert DuPont, one of the leading authorities on drug addiction in the U.S., told ABC’s 20/20 he was shocked to learn the U.S. air force encourages, if not mandates, the use of amphetamines for its pilots. “People who get strung out on amphetamines are … usually crazy,” DuPont said. “They’re paranoid, they stop eating … Their judgment is impaired and they do very bad things … They are the sickest of all drug addicts.”
Amphetamine is known on the street as copilots, speed, zip, dexies, bennies, crosstops, uppers and crank. It has also been called the poor man’s cocaine.
Amphetamine was first synthesized in 1887 in Germany. It was investigated as a possible cure or treatment for ailments from depression to decongestion.
In 1919, the Japanese discovered a more potent version of the drug — methamphetamine. The new drug was a crystalline powder soluble in water. In this form, it can be smoked, injected, snorted or taken orally. Users get an intense but brief high when they inject or smoke the drug, but if it’s snorted or taken orally by capsule, the high lasts longer.
1919-1930s
In the late 1920s, scientists discovered amphetamine was good for opening the bronchial passages and stimulating the central nervous system. By the 1930s, amphetamine was marketed as Benzedrine, an over-the-counter inhaler to treat nasal congestion. The drug was used and abused by non-asthmatics. By 1937, it was available by prescription in tablet form.
By the 1930s, high-performance athletes were choosing amphetamine over strychnine as their performance-enhancing drug of choice. Amphetamine improves concentration and endurance but it also increases the risk of heat stroke because the drug causes blood to flow away from the skin. This proved fatal for some athletes.
The drug was used widely during the Second World War to keep soldiers awake and alert. American, British, German and Japanese soldiers were issued amphetamine to combat fatigue and heighten endurance.
1950s-present
By the 1950s, tablets of methamphetamine (Methedrine) and dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) were legally manufactured and became available to the public. Truck drivers, athletes and businessmen used them. Students popped them as “pep pills” to cram for exams. Amphetamines were used as weight-control pills.
By the 1960s in the U.S., underground meth labs popped up in California. San Diego was where the drug was manufactured for pilots heading to fight the war in the Pacific. Addicts were using injectable methamphetamine all over the U.S. One of the first noticeable doping cases involving amphetamine occurred at the 1952 Winter Olympics. Several speed skaters (giving new meaning to the expression) became ill and required medical attention.
At the 1960 Olympics, Danish cyclist Kurt Jensen collapsed and died of a heart attack from an amphetamine overdose. The International Olympic Committee took action in 1967 after the death of British cyclist Tommy Simpson from amphetamine in the Tour de France. In 1968, amphetamine appeared on the IOC’s new list of banned substances.
Crystal methamphetamine – ice, crystal, quartz – started showing up in the late-1960s, when the term “Speed kills” was coined. It is clear, almost transparent in appearance. That compares to common methamphetamine, which is a white to dark brown powder or chunk with different consistencies. Crystal meth is usually smoked and produces a high that can last 24 hours.
The long-term effects of methamphetamine include chronic insomnia, paranoia, hallucinations, halted personality development, malnutrition and anti-social tendencies. Withdrawal symptoms include restlessness, mental confusion and depression.
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| AMPHETAMINES: |
Amphetamines stimulate the central nervous system to increase mental alertness.
In the short term, the drugs increase heart rate, blood pressure, concentration and irritability, and decrease appetite. As these effects wear off, depression and fatigue can occur.
Long-term use of amphetamines often leads to weight loss and constipation. The drugs are considered highly addictive. At high doses (30 to 50 milligrams), amphetamines may cause tremor, sweating and anxiety. At very large doses, delusions, hallucinations, seizures and coma can result.
Unlike short-acting cocaine, the effects of amphetamines last for five or six hours.
Nervous system stimulants are prescribed to treat narcolepsy in adults. By stimulating the brain, amphetamines prevent excessive drowsiness during the day.
Sources: Canadian Medical Association New Guide to Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs, Dalhousie University pharmacologist Harold Robertson
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| QUICK FACTS: |
A 1997 U.S. survey estimated 5.3 million Americans (2.5 per cent of the population)
have tried methamphetamine in their lifetime. Use of the drug is more common in the Western U.S.
than in the rest of the country.
Source: National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHDSA)
In San Diego, about 40 per cent of the people arrested tested positive for
methamphetamine.
Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse
1997 methamphetamine prices (US$) on the street:
·$3,500 to $30,000 per pound
·$400 to $2,800 per ounce
·$37 to $200 per gram
Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse
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