Matthew Leddon; mefloquine made me sell meth
In Pierre, South Dakota, Matthew Leddon, a former Army Reservist claimed to a judge that his ingestion of the anti-malarial drug, mefloquine, during his deployment to Afghanistan made him a meth dealer.
I never took mefloquine, but I know people who have and I guess it does cause some weird stuff to happen in your noggin, but none of those people sell meth. The judge in this case agrees with my experience;
Judge Barnett told Leddon he had no doubt that mefloquine perhaps made some soldiers sick.
But it was a little too convenient for Leddon to tell police after he was arrested that he planned to use the 60 baggies of meth to commit suicide because he was so depressed.
There were many other opportunities when he could have commited suicide. The mefloquine might damage people’s mental health, Barnett said.,
“But it didn’t make them dishonest and it didn’t make them dealers.”
The judge didn’t appreciate Leddon’s attempt to skate on the charges because of his military and LEO history;
Barnett told Leddon he did wrong when he was quick to mention his police and Army experience to Pierre police officers who made a vehicle stop of Leddon and Jason Mahto on Sept. 9, 2016, on Harrison Avenue. A police officer said in a court document that Leddon raised suspicions by appearing to brag about being an ex-police officer and veteran.
Police officers found 60 doses of meth and scales for weighing drugs and a meth “snort tube” in Leddon’s pocket used for ingesting the illegal drug, Barnett said.
Police officers said one of the first things Leddon told them was that he was a former cop and soldier, Barnett told Leddon. That’s unfair to law officers doing their job, an attempt “to manipulate what should be a position of honesty and honor. I think you brought out your military, army and police service to deter that officer from doing his job. And I think you’re kind of putting it out there in front of me so I won’t do my job.”
Leddon was sentenced to 41 days (plus 3 days of “time served”) and 3 years of supervised release.
Category: Crime
He sold meth because he is morally bankrupt. The mefloquine defense is a BS crutch.
The mefloquine never messed with me much while in whatever shit hole country I was in, it was the crap I had to take when I got back that made me wierd
Judge Bennet: thank you. Only quibble I have is that IMO you should have given him at least the traditional “year and a day” prison sentence for his felony.
Leddon: no, mefloquine did NOT make you deal meth. What made you deal meth is the fact that you are a low-life a-hole willing to sell addictive poison to others to make a fast buck. In a truly just world, you’d be hanged tomorrow – and meet Satan shortly thereafter.
“Enjoy” your stay in jail.
This dude looks way to fat to be a meth head?
takes a year for a meth head to look like death warmed over!
Tequila once helped me to sleep with a middle aged, slightly chubby woman while I served at Fort Benning, and then again while I was at Fort Drum…
Or perhaps I was gonna sleep with those women anyway I just used the alcohol as an excuse…in any event it never once convinced me to do something illegal, only the merely foolish and perfectly legal.
Stolen valor jerk off too claiming a Bronze Star. That is also a Federal felony last I checked. 41 Days in jail for dealing a controlled substance. That will teach him. I bet he never does meth again.
When they quit doing meth and sit in jail with a low quality diet they tend to get fat right away. Meth heads sit a confused state due to the sudden withdraw.
Bronze Star Medal = Federal Felony = No
BSM not included in Stolen Valor Act
FWIW: none of the crimes defined by the current SVA (18 USC 704) are felonies. All have maximum sentences of a year or less. Federal law defines a felony as a crime having a possible maximum sentence of in excess of one year.
Must be why he picked that one. Still he is a Stolen Valor Jerk off.
Drug dealer. Stick one in his ear and notify his relatives to pick up their trash.
Huh?
In the 2016 link, Leddon said he’s the first American veteran to receive 100 percent disability with unemployability due to mefloquine neurotoxicity:
http://www.kdlt.com/2016/10/28/medicine-made-to-combat-malaria-haunts-area-vets/
Also interesting is that he claimed a Bronze Star Medal, which proved to be bogus.
He is a one trick pony. Every bad thing that he ever did, does or will do goes back to some anti-malarial drugs that millions of other people took without a problem.
This article states that initially, he was receiving 50% Disabilty for PTSD, but had it upgraded to 100% for mefloquine poisoning. Is that possible? The guy said in 2016 he attempted suicide and now he is saying the same thing in 2018:
https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/communities/hot-springs/community/area-veteran-attends-national-meeting/article_628d17fc-f3ec-5bf6-9279-cc45028b7c4c.html
What is more interesting is that the 2016 article was published (along with the news video) in October 2016…a month after his arrest in September 2016.
Possibly a CYA for him as an excuse for his possession of Meth?
What a bunch of shyt! I have bad hearing, so the VA gives me 10% for TINITTIS!I was hoping for another 10% to help pay the VA meds bills! And this A.H. gets 50% for what? and is trying for 100% who in hell is guarding the chicken house? because the foxes have gotten in!
I’ve got the 10% max for Tinnitus and shot hearing also. I can hardly hear at times. What a VA crock.
Only 41 days in prison for being a meth dealer? No wonder we’ve got an opioid crisis. The judge should have the bailiff ceremoniously slap him on the wrist as part of this sentence.
Red Pill Day in the Viet of the Nam cleaned my system out. Meth wasn’t around then (I don’t think).
Can I get an Amen from Claw?
Not real sure what the difference is between meth and speed, but the latter was available in RVN. Heroin and pot were the drugs of choice during my tours and I only know of one instance where speed was used in my immediate AO.
During my tour there was a liquid sold in brown bottles that was Amphetamine.
Rumor was the gooks cut it with piss.
Meth was called crystal meth and was snorted but I did not see any in my travels. I stuck to the Budwieser that sat in the sun on pallets along some tarmac for a few months.
Bunch of lame excuses for being a drug dealer, among the other things.
Only adverse effect of Mefloquine I’ve had reported was weird dreams and mild GI complaints. On the bright side, nobody I was administering Mefloquine ever got malaria. Possible side effects are documented, but can’t say criminality was one…a GB tried to use it as a mitigating circumstance for murder.
I never had any of the dreams or other problems…never had problems with Doxy prophylaxis either.
Thanks, IDC SARC.
Am chuckling because it seems the majority of commercials I see on TV about presciption medicines include a voice warning folks about the side effects of those medications advertised. Weird Dreams? Suicidal Thoughts? Depression? Hear that on the Chantex commercials as well as Lyrica, any Anti-Depressant medication, etc. etc.
Is it possible that since Leddon was diagnosed with PTSD, that he was given antidepressant drugs, which may be the cause of his suidical thoughts?
it’s possible. The occasional to rare effect of suicidality especially early in antidepressant use is well known and part of the prescribing information that accompanies every bottle. Any competent provider should be aware and vigilant in watching for such signs. It’s ironic though that such a worry was overblown and resulted in less use of such meds by depressed individuals, which actually resulted in an increase in suicides.
Chantex worked for me, but it really does affect your dreams. Mine went straight into high def, technicolor, wide screen extravaganzas. Fookin’ awesome! And almost 10 years of no tobacco.
Can’t speak to the side effect issues of melfloquine personally – I was prescribed dox instead.
Out of curiosity: what is your estimate on the failure rate for dox as an antimalrial prophylactic, given your experience?
I’m not sure about the failure rate statistically. That’s a good question, because nothing is fool-proof. IME I never saw it fail in people that took Doxy correctly. It has a narrow window though, you have to take it consistently. Waiting even 8 hours past the time the next dose is due can fail to protect. Three navy guys got malaria on a deployment, but they admitted they were non compliant taking their meds.
Other PPE should also be used in an endemic area as well, along with the meds.
We were on weekly Mefloquine doses in Afghanistan (early 2002) and everybody regularly forgot to take them. Until one fine day, we’re doing some “trading” with the SF guys down the road and their medic mentions the weird dreams side effect and its even better if you take them before bed. Nobody ever forgot after that and everybody was tucked in nice and early on Monday nights. No meth heads resulted.
Disney Drive?
Yup. Population of Bagram was maybe 200 when I got there. Disney Drive has nothing to do with Mickey Mouse.
https://www.fallenheroesmemorial.com/oef/profiles/disneyjasona.html
Small world. Bragg? Building 10? 3rd SFG? Dirt/Dust everywhere? Tent city? Generators galore? Jersey Barriers? Floodlights? Civilian Afghans getting blown up because they crossed the wire?
Just curious if we were there the same timeframe. You don’t have to share what unit you were with. Am keeping my unit info closehold for personal reasons…😎
I was with 86th Signal, we had a small detachment at Bagram. First satellite team was in place on New Year’s day IIRC, I got there mid JAN 2002. Lived in Motel 6 for a bit, then we moved over into the hangars. Loved the spring thaw, when the pile of Russian aircraft started to settle and shit would blow up unexpectedly. Good times!
Motel 6….yep..I remember it well.
And I definitely remembered the 86th Signal as well as KABOOM!
And the burn pit…and hangars…
We were there the same timeframe. Spent 4th of July in 2002 there as well. Has it really been 16 years? Wow.
Small world. Who knows…our paths might have crossed, considering the population was small.
Thanks for sharing, SFC D.
Our paths most definitely crossed! Probably my favorite deployment of my career. I think I still have a t-shirt from the first annual Bagram minefield run. And I refuse to comment on the flash-bang that may or may not have been used to start the event.
So I’m talking to my CO, having a cup of coffee as the sun comes up. A mine explodes about 50M away. He smiles and says “every time a mine goes off, a haji gets his wings.” I still cant watch “It’s a wonderful life” without getting the giggles.
Went to meetings on a daily basis where that was a topic, i.e. how does the base prevent the locals from crossing the wire and blowing themselves up.
I was there, Mefloquine Mondays! Diarrhea, night sweats, weird dreams, but no crystal meth urges.
I can’t wait to hear ‘dealing meth’ calmly listed in the side effect section of the next mefloquine TV ad.
Fortunately I was in Afghanistan in the Winter so my only experience with Mefloquine was in 1995 when our battalion went to Zimbabwe for an excercise.
The one thing I remember about it was that it would occasionally give me very vivid dreams. It’s hard to explain but usually when you wake up from a dream, you KNOW it was a dream. Well, when you have a “mefloquine dream” you wake up and for at least a few minutes afterwards, you don’t know if what happened in the dream was real or not. It’s a very unsettling experience.
We took our pills on Monday (Mefloquine Mondays) and you would sometimes see folks sitting in the chow hall on Tuesday morning with the 300-yard stare, recovering from their “mefloquine dreams.”
Having said that, as near as I can recall, the effect itself was temporary and once it wore off there were no long term residuals.
I think the whole “Mefloquine made me do it” thing started in 2002 when the first troops returned from Afghanistan. Some of the guys found out their wives had been cheating on them and either murdered them or beat them up, and when they were charged they tried to blame the mefloquine.
I can’t picture the courts being very busy up in Pierre SD, thus I wonder why the mudda-fuck a scumbag like him got off so easy. Lazy Prosecutor? A bribed Judge?
I took a few aspirin last night…this morning I knocked off two liquor stores and one gas station.
The struggle is real.
Mefloquine made me sleep with my buddy’s wife…?
Made me get that DUI?
…slap that MP
Steal a car
Re-enlist?!?
How ironic (and yes, it is him):
https://www.commerceflorida.com/company/P00000055103/psychiatric-billing-svcs
I can see why he went under. They don’t need shrinks in Clearwater because they are all…. wait for it… Clear.
😁
Leddon most likely contacted the TV Station in the link provided to make up the story that he was going to kill himself with the bags of meth because of his past use of Mefloquine. Too much of a coincedence that the interview was done 1 month after his arrest. He is a sneaky, lying, connniving Son of a Female Dog that needs to serve more time for his poor behavior. If he REALLY wanted to kill himself, he would have succeeded with other methods. Glad the Judge saw through his ruse.
41 days for all those bags of meth? Yeah, that’ll keep him from doing it again. Doubt it was all for personal use.
Enjoy the 41 days of cockmeat sammiches and ghey whey shakes at the BTJT Deli, MATTHEW LEDDON.
Fucking crackhead…
Odd that it would play out like that. It’s almost like the story published didn’t match the actual evidence in possession.
We live in an alternate universe, a place where logic is absent. No one today is responsible for any bad behavior. It’s always someone else’s fault.
Some folks think that is where they live but the rest of us (apparently still most of the country) live in the real world. The deluded ones just seem to be large in number – they whine so much and so loudly demanding constant attention that there seem to more of them than actually exist. They will still do a lot of damage as they continue their tantrums.
I don’t like the suspicion expressed by the police and the judge’s comments regarding druggie boy’s attempts to gain favorable influence. Hell, the only reason I would consider getting a Veteran plate is to skate on a potential ticket, and why do you suppose the FOP supporter stickers exist? Ever see a legislator’s tag? For parking privileges, a sticker would do just fine. It’s all about skating. So, while I blame the amateur pharmacist here for his drug dealing, I don’t blame him for worming.
Mefloquine is a bad drug, period. The Canadians shit-canned it after Somalia in 94, other countries’ armies pretty much did the same. FDA finally made Roche issue a “black box” warning on it, citing that up to 30% of people will experience some sort of psychiatric sequela. My own experience with the drug when it first came out was not good. From 93-97 I took it frequently in the countries I was deployed to. Without going into it too far, loss of impulse control and violence were features of the behavior. One problem with it is that not everybody’s metabolism is the same. After a few weeks of taking it, it will indeed build up to a neurotoxic dose for a lot of people. The damage is not easily reversed. With all of this shit the assumption is somehow that side effects stop at the neck and don’t affect the brain; bad drug development seldom looks at what crosses the blood-brain barrier and what happens when it gets there. A medic for the oil companies in Burma and Nigeria told me that they stop giving out mefloquine years ago, based on insurance companies’ guidance to keep down injuries on the rig. They figured it would be easier to treat malaria than to deal with problems created by mefloquine.
What I find the most interesting about this is that this article and the case documents do not match. He was arrested with far less than what this article posed and the judge stated he was a dealer, but the police reports don’t show anything supporting that. Most likely this is why his sentence did not match that of a legit dealer.
I took Mel back in 03 and I got sick quick. Started with nightmares and puking. I stopped taking it because I had that luxury in the AF.
His picture also doesn’t look like one of a user, so I will sit back and wait for more information to come out before I cast judgement. Some folks need to back off the keyboard and get back to reality.