M & M's = what drug?

Reading Tim O’'Brien’s book “Going After Cacciatto” he mentions giving green M & M’s to the wounded in Viet Nam. I assume he’s talking about morphine, but thought I would check here to be sure.

Mightn’t it be that he was literally giving them green M&Ms and relying on the placebo effect?

Could be, but so much else in the book is authentic, firing ranging rounds, calling white phosphorus “willey pete,” talking about HE rounds. I rally got the impression that it was the real nickname of something else.

After some careful re-reading I think Q.E.D., as usual, is correct.

Dammit, I thought someone had uncovered a cheap source of morphine for a minute there…