Army probes drug use by soldiers in Afghanistan after EIGHT soldiers fatally overdosed in one year

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 14:46 GMT, 21 April 2012 | UPDATED: 18:20 GMT, 21 April 2012

The U.S. Army has investigated 56 soldiers in Afghanistan on suspicion of using or distributing heroin, morphine or other opiates during 2010 and 2011.

Eight soldiers died of drug overdoses during that time, the newly obtained data also reveals.

While military officials says that the issue is not a pervasive one, a judicial watchdog claim the problem is more serious.

The U.S. Army says that while the presence of readily available opium - the raw ingredient for heroin - is a concern, opiate abuse has not been an extensive problem for troops in Afghanistan. 

'We have seen sporadic cases of it, but we do not see it as a widespread problem, and we have the means to check,' said Colonel Tom Collins, an army spokesman.

However, Tom Fitton, president of conservative watchdog Judicial Watch who requested the investigation, said the problem is bigger than the military is prepared to admit, reports Associated Press.

FULL STORY: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2133125/Eight-soldiers-fata...