Agorism
12-03-2010, 12:41 PM
Interrogators subjected Gitmo detainees to dangerous psychoactive drug: report
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/gitmo-detainees-administered-dangerous-drug/
The US military's routine administration of high doses of a malaria drug, posing severe psychological side effects for Guantanamo Bay detainees, may have been the "psychological equivalent of waterboarding," according to a published report.
An investigation by the Seton Hall University School of Law, a leading law school in the New York metropolitan area, found that administering 1250mg of the malaria drug mefloquine to Guantanamo Bay detainees was a standard operating procedure, "whether or not any use of the drug was medically appropriate."
"Mefloquine was administered to detainees contrary to medical protocol or purpose," Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Director of the Seton Hall Law Center for Policy and Research, said. "The record reveals no medical justification for mefloquine in this manner or at these doses. On this record there appears to be only three possible reasons for drugging these men: gross malpractice, human experimentation or 'enhanced interrogation.'"
"At best it represents monumental incompetence," he added. "At worst, it's torture."
Mefloquine, even at the standard dose of 250mg, can cause severe side effects such as paranoia, hallucinations, aggression, psychotic behavior, memory impairment, convulsions, suicidal ideation and possibly suicide. The drug produces psychoactive effects because it can cross the blood-brain barrier. In addition, it has a relatively long half-life and is fat-soluble, meaning the drug can remain in the body for a long period of time.
..continued
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/gitmo-detainees-administered-dangerous-drug/
The US military's routine administration of high doses of a malaria drug, posing severe psychological side effects for Guantanamo Bay detainees, may have been the "psychological equivalent of waterboarding," according to a published report.
An investigation by the Seton Hall University School of Law, a leading law school in the New York metropolitan area, found that administering 1250mg of the malaria drug mefloquine to Guantanamo Bay detainees was a standard operating procedure, "whether or not any use of the drug was medically appropriate."
"Mefloquine was administered to detainees contrary to medical protocol or purpose," Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Director of the Seton Hall Law Center for Policy and Research, said. "The record reveals no medical justification for mefloquine in this manner or at these doses. On this record there appears to be only three possible reasons for drugging these men: gross malpractice, human experimentation or 'enhanced interrogation.'"
"At best it represents monumental incompetence," he added. "At worst, it's torture."
Mefloquine, even at the standard dose of 250mg, can cause severe side effects such as paranoia, hallucinations, aggression, psychotic behavior, memory impairment, convulsions, suicidal ideation and possibly suicide. The drug produces psychoactive effects because it can cross the blood-brain barrier. In addition, it has a relatively long half-life and is fat-soluble, meaning the drug can remain in the body for a long period of time.
..continued