The military had launched education programs to deal with the growing drug abuse problem among the troops. When it failed, the military began to court martial offenders in large numbers. When the number of court-martials became too high, the military began to discharge troops from the service. The Marines especially believed in punishment to curb drug use. The Marine Commandant at the time, General Wilson Jr., believed it was better to be reduced in strength than to allow heroin addicted Marines to continue to serve. This method was effective at preventing new troops from becoming users because new troops had become users due to existing troops introducing them to the drugs.