The NDAA proposal’s idea is that the marijuana testing requirement discourages potential recruits from enlisting. This concern is particularly significant because the Services are currently facing recruiting challenges. By removing this barrier, the provision aims to attract a larger pool of applicants, potentially addressing the recruiting problems.

Preservice drug use can be a bar to enlistment. It depends on what drug, how often, and how close in time to the application process. It was not unusual to hear of recruiters telling a poolee to say they only experimented with the drug when applying. With that statement, a waiver could be possible. The benefit to the recruiter was getting an enlistment and meeting her quarterly quota.

The move follows the increasing decriminalization of marijuana use by many states over the years.

The news is that, as of May 2024, the Department of Justice is considering moving marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance. Part of the reason appears to be that marijuana is being used increasingly in medical situations. The Department of Health & Human Services has produced information to DoJ to support the change, which finds there are “currently accepted medical uses” for marijuana.

The notice of proposed rulemaking: here. Office of Legal Counsel: here.

Rescheduling DOES NOT mean that marijuana use will be permitted to servicemembers or that they may not be disciplined and separated for marijuana use. It is likely that permitted use will continue to be limited to those who have a diagnosed medical need. I doubt DoD medical facilities will be dispensing marijuana to patients for pain management. Which is interesting because we know thousands of servicemembers are prescribed serious pain relief medications–opiods–that can be habit forming.

The Army has launched a crackdown on the drug spice at least nine commands in response to a spike in usage among soldiers. A designer drug that mimics marijuana, spice is legal in most states, and is available for sale in smoke shops and online for around $50 for three ounces. What’s more, spice is undetectable by most urinalyses. The Army is also keeping a watchful eye on another noncontrolled substance called salvia, which is a hallucinogen.

Spice has been outlawed in 13 states, including Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and, as of July, Hawaii, according to the National Conference on State Legislatures. Several variants of spice are illegal in Germany and some other European nations.

In the Army, use of noncontrolled intoxicants, including natural substances, is prohibited under Army Regulation 600-85, which governs the service’s substance abuse program. Punishments can arise under Article 92, UCMJ, for an orders violation.

Standout slotback Marcus Curry, whose off-field behavior drew as much attention as his on-field exploits, has been dismissed from the Naval Academy football team. Curry was charged with an unauthorized absence for failing to be in his dormitory room in Bancroft Hall when required. The Capital reported in late January that Curry was allowed to remain at the Naval Academy despite testing positive for drug use and after recommendations he be dismissed.

Thanx CAAFLog.

bnd.com has this report (I posted on this earlier here):

A lesbian, Chaurasiya came out to her unit commander last summer after a chain of events beyond her control.

Although Chaurasiya (pronounced “Chara-seeya”) admitted to being a lesbian, and even possessed a New Hampshire marriage certificate to another woman, a three-star Air Force general in February ruled she should remain in the military anyway.

The general’s reason: Chaurasiya acknowledged her sexual orientation as a way of “avoiding and terminating military service,” according to the memo written by Lt. Gen. Robert Allardice, commander of the 18th Air Force, based at Scott.

The case has taken a different twist:

On Thursday, Chaurasiya found herself the subject of an three-hour interview with officers from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. The officers asked her about her affiliation with India, the land of her parents’ birth, and her travels around the world.

At the same time 365gay.com reports that a ROTC student who has “come out” must now repay about $80,000.00 in recoupment.

CBS4Denver reports that:

he U.S. Army is conducting an investigation of at least 38 recruiters in its Denver Army Recruiting Battalion. . . . The probe is looking into whether fraudulent documents were used to enlist new soldiers. Those documents could include items such as phony diplomas and other altered records. Five years ago CBS4 News showed Denver area recruiters instructing a high school student how to get a phony diploma and teaching him how to beat a drug test. It led to a national “stand down day” for all recruiters to re-examine ethics.

Here is a link to some interesting letters to the Chattnoogan.com regarding the SEAL cases.

They are sold under catchy names like Sage of the Seers, Magic Mint and Thang, designer drugs that can be legally sold at shops and online in most cases. But due to their increasing use by Sailors and the effects they cause, these designer drugs have been added to the U.S. Navy’s zero-tolerance drug-abuse policy. Navy medical labs have new tests for the designer drugs, said Cmdr. Florenzio Yuzon, staff judge advocate for Navy Region Southeast.

Here is the link to NAVADMIN 108/10. And here is some additional information that is being put out to commands from NMPC.

UPI.com reports:

The family of an Ohio soldier who committed suicide in Iraq says members feel let down by the punishment for four men accused of hazing their son.

Omaha.com reports that:

A 21-year-old Offutt Air Force Base airman accused of shooting to death a fellow airman during a “trust” game has been charged in military court. Airman 1st Class Corey D. Hernandez of Walnut, Calif., was charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice with unpremeditated murder while engaged in an inherently dangerous act, concealing physical evidence and furnishing false and material information to a peace officer. The maximum punishment for all charges is life in prison, a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay and allowances and reduction to the lowest enlisted grade. Hernandez had faced charges in Sarpy County Court of manslaughter and use of a weapon to commit a felony. The charges were dismissed, and the case was transferred to the Air Force court.

This case presents the question whether the admission of drug testing reports” over defense objection violated Appellant’s rights under the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause. The antecedent question, whether certain admitted evidence was testimonial, we answer affirmatively, and contrary to the decision of the United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA), United States v. Blazier, 68 M.J. 544 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 2008). Having resolved the threshold question, and given the ubiquity of drug testing within the military, we conclude that additional briefing is warranted prior to final disposition of the case.

The Navy’s largest overseas installation has seen a significant drop in incidents of drinking and driving over the last two years, thanks in part, to a persistent sobriety checkpoint program, according to base officials.

Stars & Stripes reports.

The answer to alcohol related incidents, including deaths, injury, and property damage is simple. Treat alcohol as the drug that it is. Treat alcohol the same way any other drug use is treated in the military. Alcohol is considered the number one drug of abuse is it not. Ban alcohol use unless it is prescribed.

The Army needs to double its staff of substance-abuse counselors to handle the soaring numbers of soldiers seeking alcohol treatment, said Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army’s No. 2 officer.

Army Times reports.

Drugs are prohibited to military members unless they are prescribed. (And interestingly there are thousands of people on duty taking prescription medications provided to them at no expense to the member. These medications have warning labels about potential adverse affects, such as drowsiness, yet the member is not placed SIQ or otherwise restricted, except aircrew.)

Drugs are considered dangerous – there are detailed metrics showing how dangerous alcohol is. There are few, if any, metrics showing that drugs have an impact on military service compared to those showing the adverse affect of alcohol.

Remove alcohol from base facilities.

Prohibit alcohol use to anyone, regardless of age.

Ergo, there will be a significant reduction in death, injury, time lost, or damaged property. Over time the need for more counselors will be reduced thus causing a budget saving.

Or continue the current hypocritical approach to drug use.

A new order from Marine Corps Forces Command explicitly prohibits Marines from using a number of legal substances, including the herbal blend Spice, to achieve an altered state of consciousness or a druglike “high.” . . . The order, dated Jan. 27, bars Marines from using, possessing, attempting to possess, manufacturing or introducing onto military installations any of 10 substances that cause “legal highs.” Spice and salvia divinorum, including their many aliases, are at the top of the list.

JDNews.com reports.

According to MARFORPAC Order 5355.2, the substances known as Spice and Salvia Divinorum, while not listed as a controlled substance and highly accessible by service members, are hereby prohibited to all service members assigned within the MARFORPAC chain of command.

USMC website.

A Naval Academy football player is being permitted to continue as a midshipman even after testing positive for drug use, according to multiple sources and Web sites that have sprung up to criticize the decision.

Every day throughout the services young enlisted men and women are being disciplined, including court-martial, for drugs. Their lives are stained forever (this assumes a continuing of the low chance of success for a discharge upgrade). These un-athletic people are subject to:

“The Navy and Naval Academy have a ‘zero tolerance policy’ in regards to drug use, which means that any service member who is suspected of drug use will be administratively processed for separation,” Carpenter said. “This does not mean that there is a policy of mandatory separation — only that the service member be processed for separation.

Marine Corps Times reports.

Right, and the chances that the person won’t be separated are . . . ?

It was the latest example of what critics have said is a culture of special privilege at the Naval Academy for its star athletes, who are said to escape punishment for the same transgressions that get their classmates ejected.

Count me in on this one. I respectfully request that all my clients now and future receive equal treatment.

When Airmen ignore inspecting their medicine cabinets they risk possible damage to their careers and, more importantly, can jeopardize their health. This becomes a problem later if Airmen take prescribed medications after the prescription has expired. Airmen who test positive for expired or borrowed prescriptions are subject to legal proceedings under the UCMJ, and incur punishments similar to those who test positive for illegal narcotics. “Wrongful use of prescription drugs is a violation of Article 112a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” said Capt. Heather Rowlison, 28th Bomb Wing assistant staff judge advocate. “Violations of this article can be punished at court martial, with a maximum punishment of dishonorable discharge and a confinement of up to 15 years.” Giving medication to other Airmen to help with temporary pain or due to self-diagnosis, is also another pitfall for Airmen.

I find this interesting as always. Several years ago I had this situation in a case. The prosecution called the base pharmacist as a witness. The purpose was to establish various facts and to have the pharmacist talk about the prescriptions and issues and expiration of prescriptions. What the prosecution didn’t know, they’d not talked to their witness – actually, let me rephrase that, they did talk to the witness, but only about what they needed to prove the elements as they thought of them, they made the mistake many prosecutors make of only thinking about the prosecution case, not how the defense might try to defend – well anyway, there were several points I was able to bring out during cross-examination.

First, the prescription was given to be taken, “as needed.” PRN or as needed in the medical terminology is commonly used to mean “as needed” or “as the situation arises.” It is generally used as the acronym PRN to refer to dosage of prescribed medication that is not scheduled; instead administration is left to the caregiver or the patient’s prerogative.

Second, the pharmacist testified to several other things relevant to findings.

a. That he himself had on occasion used old pain medications from his medicine cabinet when he felt a pain from an old injury. Oooops – this was what the client was being prosecuted for doing. Remember, as a pharmacist he wasn’t the provider who prescribed the medication to himself, so he had no implied authority to self-medicate or prescribe. b. That the prescription may be for 30 day supply, but that doesn’t mean the allowed usage has to occur only within that 30 days, especially if it’s a PRN prescription (see above).

Client was acquitted on that charge. Unfortunately he had a few other charges so it wasn’t a complete loss to the prosecution or a complete win for me. But it does illustrate the need to actually dig a little deeper into the allegations and what the witness can testify to.