Drug Environment During And After Vietnam War
Thanks to reader, James, for sharing this info. Great stuff. Again, if you have not seen the posts on Ron’s Air Force military career, etc, please use the search button. Gracias!
I am also trying to hook up an interview with one of Ron’s close relatives… stay tuned, kids!
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I have no empirical research other than historical military research that indicates that the drugs opium, heroin, amytal and seconal were readily available in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. Ron served at the Ubon Airbase, the home of America’s major secret bombing campaign of 1966-67.
“drugs were available to U.S. forces. In 1967 opium cost $1.00 while morphine went for $5.00 per vial. Tablets of Binoctal, an addictive drug consisting of Amytal and Seconal, were available in tablet form from Vietnamese children at from $1.00 to $5.00 for twenty tablets. Although technically a prescription drug, Binoctal was available over the counter at almost any Vietnamese pharmacy for about eight piasters for twenty tablets. Twenty tablets, consumed at once, was a fatal dose. One soldier had died from Binoctal use, and three near-fatalities had been reported. “O.J.’s” were opium joints.”
The soldiers were affected by the drug differently in the US than in South East Asia. Why? Because in the US heroin was generally used in intravenously because it wasn’t “readily available” in the US. 20% of US GI’s came home having been regular users, 15% of that group quit upon coming home and an additional 3% ceased use with treatment. Ron was one of the 1%-2% that remained hooked upon return. He never received treatment because they were just becoming aware of the problem in 1966-67. In fact they ignored the drug problem over there largely until after 1967.Ron’s addiction changed radically when he returned home because it wasn’t so readily available in the US as it was in South East Asia and the drug is used intravenously in the US. There is a massive difference between smoking heroin VS intravenous drug use. If you smoke opium or heroin, you can kick easier than when you use heroin intravenously. So Ron was forced to steal and cross borders to keep his intensified intravenous addiction alive.
James DelCol, 
Jenn 7:32 pm on May 16, 2013 Permalink |
This is a sad topic for me. My daddy was a marine in Vietnam. Mom said he came home all messed up. He had seen so many horrific things too and that effected him. He had a very bad heroin addiction. I am a bit confused because I didn’t see him use drugs as a kid but I knew of some of the crazy things that happened in our lives and even as a little girl, I had an inkling as to why. That being said, for the most part, he was a wonderful father to me. He wasn’t a good husband but he was always a good father. I believe now that even if he wasn’t getting crazy high off the heroin and sometimes coke, he needed it to even function normally. We were seperated from him when I was 6 and I didn’t see him again until 1995 when I was pregnant for my daughter. Then in 2002 he was dead. He od’d. I felt sad because then I knew I would never get to see him again (until later anyway) and mom said he died doing what he did and getting higher than high. I guess I believe in every addict there are good things. I guess I want to believe that about Ronnie and the rest of them had some good in them too. I remember the wonderful times I had with my daddy and all of the nice things he did and said.
John 12:26 pm on May 17, 2013 Permalink |
My uncle was in Vietnam too. He would work from time to time but never recovered from it and did drugs until the day he died of a heart attack in 1990.
dreamweaverjenn 12:35 pm on May 17, 2013 Permalink
It’s sad. It doesn’t seem like they are doing anything more to help our veterans of Iraq/Afghanistan either. I’m sorry about your uncle.
James DelCol 5:20 pm on October 11, 2013 Permalink |
They are doing way more for these vets now. I applaud whet the US Government has done for our vets. There is just only so much funding. They have access to a lot. In the Vietnam era the attack against the “establishment” that had become synonymous with the corrupt older generation or part of a tradition the new US Culture was trying to break out of. Women and Feminism won a huge victory during this era, racial barriers were crumbling and it freaked a lot of people out. I find it to be a fascinating and wonderful history. They gave the Vietnam Veterans a hand full of chump change and a cheese sandwich and sent them home where they were despised. The anti-war movement decided in their great wisdom that to attack the soldier would be very painful. They felt that it would stop the war if families hurt from their sons coming home “Not American Heroes”, but the “baby killer” of leftist propaganda. It was a nutty time. The country was just awakening to its consciousness in my opinion.
We are still growing up. Equal pay for equal work. I still side with the woman’s movement and the left generally, but I wouldn’t spit on a veteran and act like a jackass. I might have petitioned a veteran during that period. There was a better way to provoke ending war other than spitting on the guy who is just doing a job. Soldiers don’t get to make these decisions. If we feel that our country needs to change, we have to take it upon ourselves to become active and write opinion. I’m too busy working, how about you? It is a scar on the American soul that we treated those men like that, but that war was all wrong. We killed 3 million Vietnamese. 58,000 American soldiers died fighting one of the most brutal wars ever. Guerilla war Vietnam style is no joke. They were prepared to fight forever to not have a colonial power over them. They felt they had been fighting this fight in one form or another for 1,000 years. It was China first then everyone else and then the French. I will say the French made Vietnamese culture become Chic, but they wanted sovereignty and they fuggin meant it because they kicked a 250k man army off their land for good. Walking away with tail between the legs. Get the F out!
John 7:28 am on October 14, 2013 Permalink
My good friend is a benefits admin for the VA in Houston. He helps vets find work, find a place to live, with money etc. Sadly, many of them don’t get a lot of $$$ each month because they were not in direct combat. He’ll have guys traumatized from watching their buddies killed in a street bombing in Saigon or another large city, but without evidence, they can’t get more money or whatever. He explained it better but the bottom line was “unless a vet can provide an old letter or testimony to some murder or even fighting with VC, it’s hard to prove the guy was not just a cook on a base in Saigon or Da Nang, like his papers say.
Bobby 11:16 am on May 17, 2013 Permalink |
John, If you manage to hook up this interview with Ron’s relative see if you can get them to send you some photos of Ron in his later years. It may be too much to ask, but hey, you just never know eh? Sure would be cool to see something other than that 70’s mug shot and that horrid autopsy photo. Will be great to finally get some definitive info from somebody who actually knew this elusive and very intriguing fella. All the best with the interview man.. we can’t wait!
John 12:27 pm on May 17, 2013 Permalink |
I will! Yes, the only other photo I have of him is that darkened newspaper clipping that was likely a yearbook picture. He had that starchy thin hair that no amount of hairspray could hold in place!
dreamweaverjenn 12:35 pm on May 17, 2013 Permalink
That would be great. His family will put a more human face to him.
John 1:07 pm on May 17, 2013 Permalink |
Thanks. I hope it works out. I had e-mailed with a few other relatives of Barbara once, but nothing panned out. They were her younger cousins. At 18, Barb was already going down the rocky road with drugs, biker type guys, etc. Sad tale. Her mother and grandma are still alive.
Bobby 9:31 am on May 18, 2013 Permalink
This is a long shot but you just never know..
Whilst reading the comments for the 2nd crime scene video -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paRSucZyQlc
I came across this post by someone called “dekum6826”:
“What’s disturbing to me is that my mom still has the pink chair from that place..It was given to my dad after the place was cleaned out..He was a friend of Billy’s and saw him a week before the murders”
This person could just be a BS attention seeker but on the off chance that he’s legit it might be worth shooting him a message.
John 2:28 pm on May 20, 2013 Permalink
Yes, Bobby… I will do that! Thanks.