Jan Klimkowski Wrote:Jim - as per my post #7 above, I don't believe the fictional drug in Jacob' Ladder is BZ.

Indeed, Adrian Lyne's decision to include the text in the end credits denying military tests of BZ is bizarre.

Firstly, BZ has been used militarily. I once had a copy of a scientific paper describing use of BZ in battlefield conditions by NATO in Europe.

Secondly, the "ladder" drug as described by The Chemist is absolutely, 100%, not BZ.

The experimental drug in Jacob's Ladder is an aggression-heightening and inhibition-relaxing drug, which cause monkeys, Vietnamese POWs, and then Jacob's unit to become super-charged with blind, indiscriminate, aggression.

BZ is an incapacitant.

Relatively high doses produce toxic delirium which destroys the ability to perform any military task.

Quote:In the recently declassified field manual for the Treatment Of Chemical Agent Casualties And Conventional Military Chemical Injuries published as FM8-285 of the U.S. Army, BZ is listed in the glossary and described in Chapter 6 as an incapacitating agent:

BDU battle dress uniform
BZ incapacitating agent
C Celsius/centigrade

Chapter 6, Incapacitants, Section I - General

602. CNS Depressants.

CNS depressants produce their effects by interfering with transmission of information across central synapses. An example of this type of agent is 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate (BZ), which blocks the muscarinic action of acetylcholine both peripherally and centrally. In the central nervous system anticholinergic compounds disrupt the high integrative functions of memory, problem solving, attention and comprehension. Relatively high doses produce toxic delirium which destroys the ability to perform any military task.