Nonlethal weapons

Puskas, J.E. Novel butyl composite for less-lethal ammunition, Kautsch. Gummi Kunstst., 58, 288, 2005. Charles, A. et al. Penetrating bean bag injury Intrathoracic complication of a nonlethal weapon, J. Trauma, 53, 997, 2002. 

In the hospitals, the survivors were cut off from any communications with the outside and their relatives were not allowed to visit them. An incorrect list of hospitals for victims was released. The main problem was the lack of information about those dealing with the identification and characterization of the chemical used and the unavailability of known antidotes (e.g. naloxon) by medical staff treating the victims (Bajgar et al, 2007a). It appeared from this event that there were compounds not explicitly enumerated in the CWC and therefore not controlled by this Convention. Fentanyl can be considered as a nonlethal weapon (a group of so-called calmatives) and these chemicals can also be used to incapacitate animals of course, its use against humans is not excluded (Bajgar, 2006 Hess et al, 2005). 

Pearlman Al (1969). Nonlethal weapons for use by law enforcement agencies. New Physic, (August), 625-628. 

Security Planning Corporation (1972). Nonlethal weapons for law enforcement, research needs and priorities. A Report to the National Science Foundation, Washington, DC, USA. 

Department of the Navy (1997). Preliminary Legal Review of Proposed Chemical-Based Nonlethal Weapons, 30 November. Alexandria, VA, USA Office of the Judge Advocate General (International and Operational Division). 

A second type of chemical weapon is rather new but has already attracted considerable military interest throughout the world—the large-scale use on the battlefield of chemicals which are not basically lethal in themselves but which produce a temporary and reversible incapacitation—for example, temporary mental confusion, temporary anesthesia, narcosis, paralysis, temporary blindness. Such chemicals used in conjunction with other nonnuclear arms could contribute to the success of a military operation, with a significant reduction in loss of life—particularly in comparison to the casualties associated with nuclear use. A situation where nonlethal weapons might be of considerable significance is found in so-called limited wars, or less than total wars, where military operations are limited in scale, area, participants, and degree of violence. In such wars it is desirable to stamp out aggression at the earliest possible moment and with minimum loss of life and property. 

Finding a suitable nonlethal weapon to substitute for a lethal one poses formidable problems. Consider the criteria—military, medical, and budgetary—that should govern the selection of an ideal... 

The Taser X26 is sold as a nonlethal weapon. The shock should therefore be delivered to electrode sites so that the heart is not directly included in the current path but perhaps so that maximum muscle mass or motor nerve tissue is included. On the other hand, the two electrodes can both hit near the heart so that heart pumping action is impaired and blood pressure falls so that the person loses consciousness and may go into ventricular fibrillation and die. Zipes (2014) claims that the Taser X26 can cause cardiac arrest in humans. 

Lewer, Nick, ed. The Future ofNon-Lethal Weapons Tech-rwloges. Operations, Ethics and Law. Portland, Oreg. Frank Gass, 2002. Includes several essays on technologies used to develop and assess nonlethal weapons and evaluates claims made for their effectiveness. 

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