US Troops High on Afghan Heroin

Bored US soldiers have easy access to heroin in poppy-rich Afghanistan, and few fear punishment if they're caught using it, Salon reports. Filmmaker Shaun McCanna says he was able to score heroin easily on over a dozen occasions during his two trips to the war-torn country.

Bazaar shops are lined with bulletproof vests, helmets, and knives—military goods that are evidence of trades from soldiers seeking items like liquor, Viagra, and the omnipresent opiate. Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome is often blamed for heroin’s heavy use among soldiers, but many addicts said in-country boredom and frustration with military operations triggered their drug use. (More Afghanistan stories.)