A Pentagon study just released, surveyed more than 28,500 U.S. troops last year. About 25% admit to abusing prescription drugs, mostly pain relievers. Among Marines in the survey, it was around 20%.
About 15 percent of soldiers said they had abused prescription drugs in the 30 days before the survey. About 10 percent of Marines said the same thing.
Painkiller abuse among our troops has risen since 2005. A 2005 survey showed that 4 percent of soldiers had abused painkillers in the previous 30 days, compared with 13 percent in 2008. Abuse within the previous year was only 10 percent in 2005.
Other survey findings from an article in USA Today include:
“ The percentage of troops showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder increased during the war years. In a 2005 survey, 7 percent of the service members described symptoms suggesting PTSD. That increased to 11 percent in the 2008 study.
The largest increases were within the Army and Marine Corps, the two service branches doing most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The rate of soldiers who described problems suggestive of PTSD increased from 9 percent in 2005 to 13 percent in 2008, and from 8 percent to 15 percent among Marines, the survey results show.
Nearly 60 percent of Marines admit engaging in binge drinking. The rate of heavy alcohol use — defined as five or more drinks per occasion once a week — among all service members ages 18 to 35 remained higher than in the civilian population.
Service members admitting that they had thoughts of suicide during the year prior to being surveyed doubled from 1 percent in 2005 to 2 percent in 2008.”
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