Drugs in the Military

¶ … Drugs in the military [...] drug usage in the United States military, and some of the steps the military is taking to combat drugs. Drug usage in the military is beginning to rise again, and the military is attempting to combat illegal drug usage in a variety of ways. However, the military recently reduced waiting times for those who test positive for marijuana usage and want to join the military, so they seem to be sending a mixed message to drug users. Their policies may affect how the military recruits in the future, and how they deal with illegal drug use by military personnel.

The United States military has a "zero-tolerance" policy on illicit drug use. However, illegal drug usage in the military seems to be increasing again, after nearly 20 years of a known decrease, and in 2002, newspapers reported "17,000 people have been discharged from the military for positive drug tests since 1999" ("Drug Use"). Therefore, illegal drugs are still established in the military, and military personnel use them for a variety of reasons, from stress to recreation.

Drug use in the military is not new. World War II veterans remember taking methamphetamines to stay awake during combat, and marijuana usage was quite common during the Vietnam War. However, today the U.S. military frowns on illegal drug use, and they have taken several steps to make sure that military personnel do not take illegal drugs. Before enlistment, recruits must pass a drug test, and there is random drug testing throughout the military after enlistment. In fact, "the military randomly tests about 10% of personnel each month" ("Drug Use"). Unfortunately, there is still an illegal drug problem in the military, and personnel who test positive for drugs can face discharge.

The U.S. military recognizes that drug addiction is a difficult thing to break, and they do offer some counseling and treatment for some members of the military. However, most personnel who test positive for drugs face some type of discharge that can affect them the rest of their lives. A news article notes, "Those who fail a drug test can be dismissed through an administrative process and given an honorable, general or other-than-honorable discharge. Such dismissals may keep them from re-enlisting, bar them from some federal and state jobs, or cause them to lose veterans' benefits" ("Drug Use"). Thus, their drug use can follow them throughout their lives, and make it difficult for them to find decent jobs, raise families, and even collect their veterans' benefits.

There are many causes for illegal drug use in the military, and one of the major causes is the stress of the job. Some stress experts note military stress is associated with a variety of reasons, "Such stressors may be associated with the physical or mental challenges of their jobs, demands placed on them because of a shortage of other personnel, exposure to trauma associated with combat, or conflicts between military and family responsibilities" (Bray, Fairbank, and Marsden 239). Substance abuse is higher in veterans who have experienced battle stress or post-traumatic stress syndrome, and there are many other stresses in the military that can lead some individuals to cope with illegal drug usage.

While illegal drug usage may be rising in the military, the military has always been aware that their members tend to overindulge in legal drugs, such as alcohol and cigarettes. Several analyses showed, "In the present analyses, those in military service showed greater than average increases in cigarette smoking and in instances of heavy drinking. [...] So we conclude that aspects of the military service itself contributed to the increases in smoking and drinking" (Bachman 170). Thus, illegal drug usage is tested for and banned by the military, but legal drugs are used quite prevalently, and they continue to be a problem with those in military service.

Interestingly, while drug usage seems to be on the upswing in the military in the last two years or so, the military has also lightened their pre-enlistment testing policies. In 2000, Defense Secretary William Cohen reduced the waiting time for marijuana retesting from 180 days to 45 days (Scarborough 6). Therefore, if a hopeful recruit tested positive for marijuana before their enlistment, they only had to wait 45 days to retest and hopefully enlist. This seems to send the wrong message to new recruits, that marijuana is not that big a deal, which is why the waiting period has been reduced. Many others see this as a mixed message to new recruits, too. "Robert Maginnis, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and analyst at the Family Research Council, criticized the relaxation as 'sending the wrong signal'" (Scarborough 6). This mixed message may account for at least part of the rise in drug use reported in 2002. Before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the military was facing problems recruiting enough new members, and so they reduced the drug testing waiting time to try to find new members. They may have found members who were not willing to give up their illegal drug use even for the military.