As the war against ISIS progresses, recent reports have discovered a new weapon within
the Islamic State’s arsenal: the drug Captagon. According to former fighters, this stimulant
drug provides a boost of energy and focus, while keeping fighters awake and euphoric.
Some media outlets have claimed that this drug is turning ISIS fighters into superhuman
soldiers. But in fact, Captagon, or its chemical name, “fenethylline” was actually once
used to treat ADHD in children. What’s more is that amphetamines like Captagon have been
used throughout the 20th century by militaries on all sides. So, what is the story behind
this ISIS “superdrug”?
Well, when amphetamine was discovered in the late 19th century, it was considered miraculous.
Originally it was marketed as the first ever antidepressant, as it would make its user
more alert and euphoric. By the 1930s, amphetamines had become the most widely abused substance
in the United States. When World War Two began, soldiers, and especially pilots, began relying
on the drug. After fighting and flying for hours on end, whichever side lapsed from tiredness
would inevitably lose. The US, the UK, and Japan supplied their militaries with stimulants,
and the Germans were one of the first to use methamphetamines, which we simply call “meth”.
At the time, it’s addictive effects were not well known. In fact, in 1940, more than
35 million doses of meth were sent to Nazi forces in just a three-month period. Even
Adolph Hitler himself was regularly injected with meth by his physician, fueling revelations
that Hitler may have been a methamphetamine addict. This could potentially explain his
mannerisms, style of frantic public speaking, and euphoric, larger than life persona.
Despite understanding more about its side effects, the drug was not uniformly banned
until the 1971 United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances. But even then, the
drug continued to be used. During the 1990s Gulf War, American Air Force pilots received
huge amounts of amphetamines from the US government. In the Desert Storm campaign, surveyed fighter
pilots admitted that about half of them were high. This even led to the deaths of four
Canadian soldiers when they were bombed by US pilots on stimulants.
And yet, amphetamines continue to be used in militaries around the world. In November
2015, nearly two tons of Captagon pills were seized in Turkey, and millions of pills are
regularly discovered. On its end, the United States has been conducting intense research
on amphetamine alternatives. And although they are now highly controlled, they are still
available. Besides the basic appeal of stimulants, their purpose in military strategy is invaluable.
An Air Force research report stated that forcing enemies to function without sleep, while medicating
your own pilots, is an effective weapon. In the end, ISIS’s “superdrug” is actually
one of the most common and well known military tools of the 20th century.
Nazi Germany was notorious for drug usage among soldiers, who used it to stay up for
days on end and fight non-stop. You can learn more about them in Seeker Daily’s video.
(sound up) Thanks for watching TestTube News! Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel
for more videos.