Did soldiers in Vietnam heal themselves with cannabis?
The Vietnam War remains one of the most controversial conflicts in modern American history. April 30 marks the anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of a conflict that cost the lives of over 3 million Vietnamese and more than 58,000 Americans. Among the over 3 million American citizens who served in the military, a surprising fact emerges: according to recent historical research, about one third of them used cannabis during their period of service.
Wild Cannabis and Availability in Vietnamese Territory
The local cannabis varieties grew spontaneously throughout Vietnamese territory, making the genetic material easily accessible to American troops. According to veteran testimonies, the quality of these genetics was considerable, with intense terpene profiles and significant cannabinoid concentrations.
John Adams, a computer engineer from California who served at the FSR logistics unit in Da Nang, recalls: "The material available was of premium quality, free of seeds and stems. You just had to reach Four Corners with a jeep and for 10 dollars you got 20 pre-rolled joints of excellent quality. The local genetics showed very potent properties - just a few puffs were enough to get pronounced effects."
Strategic Use: Front Line vs. Safe Zones
Cannabis use among military personnel followed specific dynamics linked to the operational context. While some soldiers consumed during operations, it was much more common for military personnel to use these collectible varieties when units withdrew from the front lines to safe camps.
Alan, a seventy-year-old veteran who served in the LLRP reconnaissance unit from 1967 to 1969, explains: "In my unit nobody consumed, at least not that I know of. I am convinced that in the demilitarized zones use was much more frequent than at the front. There we had to remain vigilant and always ready, since the enemy could appear at any moment."
Chemical Profiles of Local Varieties
The Vietnamese genetics presented unique characteristics derived from adaptation to the tropical climate. These ecotypes developed distinctive terpene profiles, with a predominance of terpenes such as myrcene and limonene, which conferred relaxing properties particularly appreciated in high-stress contexts.
The "Open Secret" of the American Army
From veteran testimonies it emerges that cannabis use during the conflict represented what we could define as an "open secret." Initially, military commanders showed a certain tolerance toward this practice.
Jeremy Kuzmarov, associate professor of history at the University of Tulsa and author of the book "The Myth of an Addicted Army: Vietnam and the Modern War on Drugs," explains: "The army initially was not very concerned about cannabis use among soldiers. The superiors were rather indifferent. However, due to media pressure and concerns about public image, the situation changed drastically."
The media began publishing images and reports of soldiers consuming cannabis directly on the battlefields. This media exposure led the military command to take a greater interest in the matter, starting a campaign to completely eliminate cannabis use among the troops.
Propaganda and Public Perceptions
In his book, Kuzmarov describes the propaganda narratives of the era that attributed to cannabis the responsibility for "reduced combat effectiveness, destruction of morale, and increased consumption of all drugs." Rumors also spread linking cannabis to the collapse of military discipline and even to war crimes.
Cannabis as a Pre-Therapeutic Coping Tool
While Alan may not have noticed use in his unit, for many other soldiers medicinal cannabis represented one of the few available ways to cope with the horrors of war, in an era when the concept of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder was practically nonexistent.
Adams describes the experience: "When you daily watch men, women, and children being torn apart and killed like cattle, and then you return to the silence of the camp, you naturally look for something that helps you process such atrocities. So, as you can imagine, when we were not fighting, we either smoked weed or drank alcohol."
Testimonies from the Navy
Bill Crain, a Sacramento native now sixty-two years old, served in the navy during the Vietnam War aboard the USS Molala, in the waters off Vietnamese Cam Ranh Bay. It was there that he first experienced the effects of local cannabis varieties.
"When I started my service on the ship, I was quite nervous. I was 17 years old and terrible things were happening everywhere. You turned on the television and saw everything live, directly from the battlefield," Bill recounts. "My colleagues on the ship always went to a specific room to smoke. I started going too and learned with them to find moments of relaxation through cannabis." Bill adds that about one third of his unit used cannabis.
Checks and Drug Tests: A Paradoxical Reality
Dale Shafer, now sixty-four years old, a California citizen, attorney specialized in cannabis law and former military medic, served in Vietnam from 1974 to 1976. He spent most of his wartime time at the Oakland hospital together with wounded men and women brought from the front.
Regarding the presence of drug checks, Shafer responds with a laugh: "Drug tests? Most of the people I partied with most often were precisely those responsible for the tests."
When asked whether cannabis was used among soldiers during the war, he responds: "It was really interesting. When I first entered basic training, I did not realize that anyone smoked marijuana during the war. However, as soon as I completed training and they sent me to school to become a medic, everything changed - practically everyone smoked."
The Difficult Return Home
It is crucial to understand that surviving Vietnam veterans returned home to a country that did not even want to hear about that war. The cannabis genetics continued to represent for many a support in the transition to civilian life.
"When we came home, they looked at us like outcasts," Alan describes the unfavorable reception. "This has changed today, fortunately. Soldiers do not have it easy when they return from war, you have to understand that. Today at least society accepts them."
For Bill Crain, the return home was not easy. He tried to smuggle some cannabis during the return trip, which cost him a period of liberty and ended up in a military rehabilitation center. "When I came home, my own family kicked me out. They said I was a bad influence on my brothers and sisters. I ended up on the street. Fortunately, I managed to recover."
PTSD and Continued Use
Crain, like many other veterans, continued the use of collectible cannabis seeds even after the war. As with others, it represented one of the possible ways to cope with the horrors experienced during the conflict, anticipating by decades the modern use of cannabis in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Modern research on cannabinoid and terpene profiles has scientifically confirmed many of the properties that these veterans experienced empirically, opening new perspectives in understanding the therapeutic potential of these historical genetics for contemporary collecting and research.