Remember; they used to call coca Peruvian marching powder.
this post was submitted on 07 Feb 2026
183 points (99.5% liked)
History Memes
1946 readers
679 users here now
A place to share history memes!
Rules:
-
No sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, assorted bigotry, etc.
-
No fascism (including tankies/red fash), atrocity denial or apologia, etc.
-
Tag NSFW pics as NSFW.
-
Follow all Piefed.social rules.
-
History referenced must be 20+ years old.
Banner courtesy of @setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world
OTHER COMMS IN THE HISTORYVERSE:
- !historymusic@quokk.au
- !historygallery@quokk.au
- !historymemes@piefed.social
- !historyruins@piefed.social
- !historyart@piefed.social
- !historyartifacts@piefed.social
- !historyphotos@piefed.social
founded 9 months ago
MODERATORS
World War ~~|||~~ Drugs
I think the US was on the British side in the opium wars
That's a... funny issue to address, and honestly I don't know that I could do it justice with my limited knowledge of the subject.
Officially we were neutral.
where do i sign up for the drugs side please
Explanation: The US has waged a 'war against drugs' since the 1960s, a crackdown against recreational drug use by its own population. It's used predominantly as an excuse for conservative institutions to harass and imprison racial minorities in the US.
The British Empire, on the other hand, waged two wars against China in the 1800s over the right to sell opium in China when China tried to ban the opium trade. World's trashiest world empire confirmed!
The Nazis, especially during the open phases of their invasions of Poland, France, and the Soviet Union, issued a large number of methamphetamine pills to their troops to let them fight for days without sleep or rest.
If I am not mistaken the British were heavy on drug use as well during WWII. I cannot remember the drug they were using but apparently at El-Alamein they suffered 80% Casualty rates because the men kept pushing on because it completely hindered their judgement for danger.
Yeah, the usage in the Allies was largely amphetamines, usually as "go-pills" for fighter pilots, for air crew on long-distance flights, and for sentries, but during El-Alamein, tankers were issued double the dosage normally issued to pilots for alertness. The Nazis produced about as many methamphetamine tablets in the first year of the war as the Brits did amphetamine tablets through all six years.
One of the big things with amphetamines in general is that it reduces the sensation of physical fatigue more than it reduces the effects. So you can keep going in terms of motivation like nothing is wrong, even as your ACTUAL performance degrades. You feel almost perfectly fine, but your motor skills and situational awareness end up in the trash.
Obviously, this is not fantastic for judging whether you're alert enough to be tangling with enemy armor after an already-long day of fighting.
that's exactly the one I just saw a documentary the other day about it!
What documentary was it? It's the first I've about high casualty rates due to amphetamine use, and El-Alamein was supposed to be a fairly successful battle for the Allies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S4CbHMZrps
It is a French YouTuber, the title is "The dark History of drugs"