ABSTRACT
Coupled with the fact that the Vietnam War was unsuccessful, was unpopular, and relied heavily on the military draft to fill its ranks, it is easy to understand why unmotivated and often unwilling participants sought refuge in drugs. An estimated 30 percent of soldiers returned home with significant drug-abuse problems. The use of psychedelic drugs, such as marijuana and LSD, became synonymous with the peace movement, Vietnam protests, and the counterculture of the 1960s, all of which were investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Vietnam veterans returned home to an unwelcoming country and found few options in the U.S. As recently as 2004, 40 percent of men in federal prisons in the United States were Vietnam veterans. The common factors running through their cases were post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse. The desire and demand following the Vietnam War were met by the productivity and large-scale transport of narcotics in the Caribbean, Mexico, and South and Central America.
