WTF: Mefloquine . . . . really? [View all]

[unhappycamper]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/25/robert-bales-malaria-drug_n_1378671.html

Robert Bales Charged: Military Scrambles To Limit Malaria Drug Just After Afghanistan Massacre
by Mark Benjamin
Posted: 03/25/2012 11:50 pm

WASHINGTON -- Nine days after a U.S. soldier allegedly massacred 17 civilians in Afghanistan, a top-level Pentagon health official ordered a widespread, emergency review of the military’s use of a notorius anti-malaria drug called mefloquine.

Mefloquine, also called Lariam, has severe psychiatric side effects. Problems include psychotic behavior, paranoia and hallucinations. The drug has been implicated in numerous suicides and homicides, including deaths in the U.S. military. For years the military has used the weekly pill to help prevent malaria among deployed troops.

The U.S. Army nearly dropped use of mefloquine entirely in 2009 because of the dangers, now only using it in limited circumstances, including sometimes in Afghanistan. The 2009 order from the Army said soldiers who have suffered a traumatic brain injury should not be given the drug.

The soldier accused of grisly Afghanistan murders on March 17 of men, women and children, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq in 2010 during his third combat tour. According to New York Times reporting, repeated combat tours also increase the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder.



unhappycamper comment: Why would the DoD use a medication on United States soldiers that is known for "psychotic behavior, paranoia and hallucinations"?

I know you're trying to save a few bucks here and there, but at the risk of our sons and daughters mental health?

Or do you truly not give a fuck?