But the drugs can sure give them that extra bit of bravery (AKA total disregard for personal safety) or whatever else it offers (calming the nerves or keeping you awake). There are many example out there, especially from Africa, where some soldiers/boys with guns are given meth (much more than Navy pilots got). Here is an example of the Afghan variety: marijuana-using ANA soldiers in action.
Now that was a fine example of almost complete disregard for personal safety. Also surprising is that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation found time in between all those ice hockey games to broadcast a documentary. Very commendable.
And “spliff?” I thought only anti-drug activists from the 1980s say “spliff.”
In theory, that stuff is supposed to make one cower more and become a coward. Is this some new kind of herb?
By: DW on April 23, 2008
at 3:16 pm
Thanks for a good laugh. Any chance you know what the documentary was called?
By: chrisalbon on April 23, 2008
at 4:44 pm
I’m no too sure about the documentary title. I looked on CBC Newsworld and there have been numerous documentaries and extended reports on Afghanistan over the past few years.
By: GOA on April 23, 2008
at 10:50 pm
“that bullet struck the magazine on his weapon, blasting it off”
what bollocks. he hadn’t assembled his AK properly and the top cover came off while he was firing.
was the journalist trying to make the whole thing more dramatic, or was he just clueless?
By: roadshow on April 24, 2008
at 2:42 am
+1 — The upper receiver on the AK came apart the first time that dude fired it, and the magazine is still fully inserted when he comes back towards the camera. Fantastic reporting.
By: gerta on April 25, 2008
at 7:36 pm
CBC plays documentaries all the time, dumbass.
By: marcus on April 25, 2008
at 7:59 pm
Technically, a spliff has tobacco AND marijuana in it, so unless they’re rolling it that way, the CBC is WAAAYYY off base on this one.
By: m on April 25, 2008
at 8:02 pm
Technically, a spliff is a cigarette roled with marijuana it MAY include tobacco but DOES NOT need to. In Europe the spliff tends to include tobacco, in the US the spliff does not. The usage is correct, the CBC knows the weed.
By: tc on April 25, 2008
at 8:22 pm
“what bollocks. he hadn’t assembled his AK properly and the top cover came off while he was firing.”
though it must be said, that’s not exactly an argument for getting wasted while assembling your weapon.
perhaps the reporter shared a puff before taking his notes?
By: striatic on April 25, 2008
at 10:46 pm
RE: “CBC plays documentaries all the time, dumbass.”
I’m sorry to be the one to break this to you, but Anne of Green Gables is not actually a documentary
By: GOA on April 26, 2008
at 2:13 am
[...] in the Afghan Army, however, spliffs are a particularly poor way to prepare for battle, as this little clip [...]
By: Getting baked before shooting AKs at the Taliban: a bad idea. | Greyfurt on April 26, 2008
at 2:08 pm
Looks like ‘Ross Kemp in Afghanistan’.
By: Dick Cheney on April 26, 2008
at 3:50 pm
thank you for this vid ! ;)
By: datenplatz on April 26, 2008
at 7:45 pm
No, spliff is still very much in common parlance these days. Not that I would know…
By: The Red Son on April 26, 2008
at 8:55 pm
Cannabis is a way of life for afghan people. The problem is their piss-poor training.
They look like they are going out for a friendly game of football. No discipline whatsoever.
Cannabis is actually a performance enhancing drug. It helps people perform better under severe situations. Why do you think in america it went hand in hand with slavery and railroad building?
By: pierre on April 26, 2008
at 9:46 pm
“though it must be said, that’s not exactly an argument for getting wasted while assembling your weapon.
perhaps the reporter shared a puff before taking his notes?”
:) yes, very good point
By: roadshow on April 29, 2008
at 7:24 am
Afghans guerillas are invincible so far and will continue to kick british and american arses for generations to come
By: Afghan_guerilla on April 29, 2008
at 3:07 pm
just like being on the job, you can’t be on vicodin or anything so whether I agree with herb or not it has zero to do with you being high while carrying a gun or anything along those lines. Unprofessional and potentially dangerous.
By: buy grow lights on January 3, 2009
at 9:20 am