EXCLUSIVE: Almost 350 army drug cases in past five years
Illegal drug use still a problem among soldiers in barracks across the North East.
It's claimed that soldiers in the North East have been caught with drugs deliberately to escape the army. A Metro Radio investigation can reveal that the army have dealt with 348 drugs cases across UK barracks in the past five years (January 2011 – December 2015).
A Tyneside veteran, who we’re keeping anonymous, left the army in 2014 after serving nine years. He told us that every time Compulsory Drug Testing (CDT) took place around five or six soldiers would be sacked. He said:
“Cocaine, cannabis, steroids, they were very big…
“You tend to get a lot of people who’ll be afraid of going to the likes of Afghanistan and Iraq, most of the operational tours, so they take drugs to get kicked out so they that they don’t have to go.
“You don’t really want to make yourself look weak or look like a wimp. Instead of going about it the proper way like saying I’m a bit nervous, I’m a bit shook up about going… they take drugs like cannabis and cocaine at the weekend.”
An Army spokesman said:
“**The Army does not tolerate drug abuse within its ranks as it is incompatible with military service and operational effectiveness. Soldiers caught taking drugs can expect to be discharged.
“In a very small number of exceptional circumstances, where an uncharacteristic mistake is made by a young soldier, second chances may be considered. This only happens where soldiers have already shown great promise and they fully meet the stipulated retention criteria.
“The Ministry of Defence has a policy of Compulsory Drug Testing, which seeks to reinforce the message that drug use is unacceptable in Service personnel.”