The Navy, in response to the ongoing recruitment crisis of the U.S. Military, is now able to give waivers to recruits that initially test positive for cannabis when they arrive at bootcamp, rather than sending them back.
James Waters, Rear Admiral of the Navy, told reporters that if a young person fails to admit they smoke marijuana and says “Yes”, we will evaluate them to see if there is something else wrong. “But we believe that the boot camp process will allow us to introduce them to our culture.”
Waters, the Navy’s director of military personnel plans, policy and planning, said that the goal was to “reflect where legislation is located in society.”
According to the outlet Military.com, he stated that “we recognize that many States have legalized marijuana.”
However, as noted in the publication, this policy change is just one of many steps taken by military officials from multiple branches to combat the recruiting shortages that have plagued the armed services over the past few years. These changes have lowered the boot-camp abandonment rate to around 10 percent. This is among the lowest rates in recent memory.
Waters stated that losing 4,000 recruits in boot camp is “really, really unhelpful” if the Navy wants to reach its 2024 recruitment goal of bringing in 40,000 new sailor.
Waters stressed that the more lenient approach for failed drug tests was limited to the initial screening of THC. She also noted that the policy did not apply to any other drugs, and added: “We do not do drugs in our military.”
This change was made shortly after the Air Force implemented a similar policy. The Air Force reported that they granted three times more enlistment exemptions to recruits with THC than officials had anticipated when the program was first expanded in 2022.
The Air Force missed its annual recruiting goal for the very first time since 1999. But Gen. Christopher Amrhein said in September last year that it could have been worse had they not instituted a marijuana waiver policy.
The branch reported that in the first year after waivers were made available, it granted 165. This is more than three times the 50 waivers that it had predicted it would grant each year. This policy applies to both the Air Force as well as the Space Force.
This waiver program is a significant development for the Air Force, since in 2019 it instituted a new policy that prohibited service members from using CBD products, even when they are non-intoxicating and derived from hemp, which was legal in the United States under the 2018 Farm Bill.
In the last few years, especially since hemp has been legalized, several military branches have informed their ranks and file about their rules regarding cannabis.
In 2018, the Navy sent out a notice to all ranks to inform them that they are prohibited from using CBD or hemp products , regardless of their legality. In 2020, it published an updated that explained why it made the rule change.
The Naval War College will warn sailors and marines in 2022 about the new hemp products that are on the market. issued a notice last year which said that members could test positive for marijuana after drinking a Rockstar Energy Drink that contained hemp oil.
In 2021 , an Air Force base in Massachusetts released a notice that stated service members could not even bring hemp-infused items like lip balms, shampoos, and lotions into the base. The notice stated that “even if you are using it for your pet, this is still illegal.”
In 2018, officials from the division said that they want their members to be extra cautious when eating “grandma’s miracle sticky buns, which may contain marijuana.
The Coast Guard has stated that sailors cannot use marijuana, or visit state-legal cannabis dispensaries.
The Department of Defense (DOD), in February, said that the active ingredient of marijuana delta-9 THC was the most common substance to appear on positive drug test results for active duty service members. Delta-8 THC is the second most prevalent, and is found in hemp-derived products, even in states that still prohibit marijuana.
The U.S. Military’s first attempt to communicate the ban on cannabis came in 2019 in the form a fake news conference where officials answered scripted questions about hypotheticals such as washing cats with CBD shampoos or eating burritos infused with cannabis. This was done around the same time as DOD codified their rules for the non-intoxicating cannabis cannabinoid.
Military veterans, on the other side of their careers than new recruits, have been driving forces in the drug reform movements, partly because they have used marijuana to treat mental and health issues, and as an opioid alternative.
A study conducted earlier this year found that six out of ten military veterans are in favor of marijuana legalization. An earlier survey also found veterans were more than 72 percent supportive about VA doctors being allowed to recommend marijuana legally.
Congressmen are pushing for provisions to be kept in a massive federal spending bill which would permit VA doctors to give medical marijuana recommendations to veterans who live in states that have legalized the drug .
This reform would achieve the exact same policy result as a stand-alone bill that was re-filed in the House by co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Brian Mast.
The Veterans Equal Access Act was presented several times over the past few years, with bipartisan support. has moved through committees and been approved on the floor a number times but has not yet been enacted. Blumenauer is retiring after this Congress and has prioritized the modest reform even though he’s been pushing for broader legalization.
In August, congressional members of both parties expressed “deep concern” about a recently revised VA marijuana directive which continues to prevent its doctors from making recommendations for medical cannabis to veterans who live in states where the drug is legal.
The decision to continue the “harmful” policy on cannabis recommendations was deemed “alarming”, especially in light of the latest VA clinical guidance for PTSD which strongly discourages the use of medical cannabis as a form treatment.
They said that many veterans have already reported using cannabis as a medical substitute to prescription drugs.
VA has previously updated its cannabis guidelines, adding language to its 2017 version which encourages VA doctors, for example, to discuss veterans’ marijuana usage .
In April of last year, Senate Republicans blocked a separate procedural vote that would have advanced a bill on the floor to promote VA research on the therapeutic effects marijuana has for veterans who suffer from conditions like post-traumatic disorder (PTSD).
The House Rules Committee of the GOP-controlled House has repeatedly blocked similar proposals by bipartisan members during this session.
It did, however, advance a Republican amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would require Department of Defense funding of trials exploring the therapeutic benefits of certain psychedelics for active duty service members . After bicameral discussions, the reform ended up being included in the final agreement that President Joe Biden signed late last year.
Congressman Demands Answers From DEA On Marijuana Rescheduling Review
Photo by Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
U.S. Navy Expands Marijuana Waiver Authority To Address Recruiting Shortfalls appeared first on Marijuana Moment. The post U.S.
