Drugs and war have gone hand-in-hand well before the War on Drugs.
Ancient Mesopotamian soldiers were paid in beer.
Ancient Greeks treated wine as a masculine drink for those who face down the dangers of war.
Benjamin Rush notably complained about excessive rum being given to American soldiers.
In 1846, George K. Smith & Co, which would later become the major pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline by 2000, sold quinine to US troops for the war against Mexico.
Bavarian soliders were issued cocaine in the late 1800s.
Nazi Germany was very prolific in using drugs to sustain their morale.
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They used amphetamines to hype up their soldiers in Blitzkrieg strategies and keep dive-bombers from fainting.
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Over 35 million tablets of methamphetamine were ordered by the German military for the invasions of France and Poland
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A chewing gum laced with cocaine was given to frontline soldiers and pilots who faced exhaustion
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Chocolate spiked with caffeine. That one isn’t so bad.
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Benzedrine, an amphetamine, was tested against Pervitin, methamphetamine, to see which gave pilots faster reaction times and minimal hallucinations
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D-IX, a combination of oxycodone, cocaine, and methamphetamine was given to pilots of single-man mini-submarines who would have to stay awake for up to 72 hours as there was no one to take shifts with.
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Morphine, used almost universally as an analgesic, was administered to injured soldiers with severe trauma and wounds, like amputation.
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Barbiturates were given out as sedatives for soldiers who had taken too many stimulants to fall asleep on their own.
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Steroids, like synthetic testosterone, were injected into soldiers with the goal of rebuilding muscles in fatigued troops while increasing aggression in battle.
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Hitler himself had personal physician Theodor Morell load him up with about 80 substances, including oxycodone injections, cocaine eye drops, bull testicle extract injections, antigaspills to reduce chronic farting through compounds derived from rat poison, Brom-Nervacit to force sleep after stimulant use, cardiazol to manage panic attacks, straight glucose solutions for energy spikes, glyconorm to manage high blood sugar levels, aloe laxatives and castor oil to force poops, muscle relaxants to handle severe cramping, vitamin complexes for nerve issues, camphor-infused alcohol solutions for skin irritation, arsenic-based compounds just in case of syphilis, and many more.