According to Oliver Stone, one of the only reasons he was able to hold on to his sanity while serving two tours in Vietnam was by routinely and relatively heavily smoking cannabis. He insists that there is every likelihood he would have lost touch with reality and his own humanity entirely, had it not been for the marijuana he smoked while serving.

“A lot of people in [his] platoon used it, not on the front lines, but in the back to relax and stay in touch with themselves. I looked on it as a lifesaver at the time. We [who smoked] walked out relatively whole. … The guys who did dope were more conscious of life.” – Oliver Stone