Troop levels hit by drug abuse
Research institute the RUSI states the number of personnel testing positive for cocaine use has quadrupled in the last four years
Also In The News
|
Englishman Robert Rock defied windy conditions to secure a one-shot lead at the end of the first round of the South African Airways Open in Paarl. |  |
Friday, 14, Dec 2007 08:16
The military is losing close to a battalion a year due to the illegal use of drugs such as cannabis and cocaine by personnel, according to a report.
Research conducted by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) states there has been a four-fold increase in the number of military staff testing positive for cocaine use between 2003 and 2007. The maximum penalty for taking the illegal substances is a dishonourable discharge from the army.
The centre, which specialises in defence studies, stated the number of urine tests revealing cocaine use had increased from 1.4 per thousand in 2003 to 5.7 per thousand in the first part of 2007.
Lead researcher Professor Sheila Bird has called for more information about changes to testing procedures, as figures for actual drug use could be even higher.
The professor also criticises the government's "refusal" to disclose whether detection rates during compulsory drug testing (CDT) had increased due to the use of more sensitive or targeted testing measures.
The researcher believes available statistics "could mask a two to three times higher sporadic cocaine user rate" if the upward trend in drug use had occurred in spite of testing procedures staying the same.
She said: "If there have been changes to the testing regime with relation to the day the sample is taken, this can have a substantial effect on the rate of positive tests. Such a change could itself discover three times more cocaine positives without there having been any alteration in underlying use of cocaine by service personnel, if their use of cocaine is infrequent, sporadic, but primarily on home leave or at weekends."
RUSI analyst Christianne Tipping called on the Ministry of Defence [MoD] to ensure its strict anti-drugs line was "the best way of managing the problem of drug abuse" in the armed forces.
Ms Tipping said: "The hardline policy on drugs has served the MoD well to date. CDT exists to deter rather than to try to catch every single person who might engage in occasional drug use. It also helps to maintain operational effectiveness and reduce possible security risks, such as blackmail."
A spokesman for the MoD explained the military viewed drug use as "incompatible with service life", while stating positive tests in other workplaces were significantly higher than in the armed forces.
The MoD representative said: "Positive rates in the army over the past four years average around 0.77 per cent, compared with over seven per cent in civilian workplace drug testing programmes in the UK.
"These statistics demonstrate that drug misuse is significantly less prevalent among service personnel than in corresponding civilian demographic groups."