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Military Marijuana
military has a number of jurisdictional and operational issues associated with what it will do with personnel involved with the use of medical marijuana. Though it claims that there is no ambiguity -- that its Directives (DOD 1010.1) are clear -- in reality it now finds itself facing a "Don't Ask, Don't Smoke" problem. What is happening inside and outside of the armed services is mystifying how the rules are actually enforced and understood by its legal structure.
In general, the rules are clear. Law enforcement and command personnel inside of the services say the same as those on the outside who advice people about this issue:
The fact that your state has decriminalized marijuana use is not relevant to military law. The military is a federal institution, governed by federal laws. Drug use is a crime under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) Article 112a, 10 U.S.C. 912a. Further, there is no "off time" for service members when it comes to drug use, nor does the law vary depending on location or even the dominant public perception of the drug use (whatever it may be) (Free Advice, 2011).
The real-life service circumstances...
As recently as September 2011, the U.S. Coast Guard has made no apparent modification of its drug use and abuse policies specific to this topic, even though these regulations openly guide how authority is to be exercises of repeat drug use patterns by personnel, the importance of keeping a non-drug using environment, working under the influence, etc. These topics become more complex with mind-affecting drugs are more commonplace. Similarly, a 2011 court ruling (U.S. v. Schuber, No. 11-6002, CCA Misc. Dkt. No. 2010-14) in regards to whether an active military person is imprisoned when he is forced into military confinement related to drug testing for marijuana use is an appropriate abridgement of speedy trial rights. The courts are unclear at this point and direct their concerns to what is actually happening during confinement.
These problems hit closer to home in regards to sick and wounded personnel who use marijuana with physician permission. Recent news coverage of the case of Spec. Richelle Golden of Oregon's reserve generated internal and external antipathy to what the military did, but also seemed to embolden a get-tough stance (Sullivan, 2009). Golden was struck with a crippling medical condition. Since it was clear she would no longer be able to serve (she is wheelchair bound and often unable to move), a Retired Colonel filed the paperwork in support of her termination; he even assigned himself to be her caregiver, and indicating he would help her…
REFERENCES
Byrne, A. (2010). Some U.S. Military Veterans Allowed to Use Cannabis. The Daily Dose. Viewable at http://medicalmarijuana411.com/mmj411_v3/?p=10498.
DOD (1999). Directive 1010.1. Military Personnel Drug Abuse Testing Program.
Free Advice (2011). Public legal posting site. Viewable at http://law.freeadvice.com/government_law/military_law/military_marijuana_illegal.htm.
Krawitz, M. (2010). Veterans Health Administration Tolerates Veterans Use of Medicinal Cannabis as Adjunct Therapy to VA Hospital Supplied Opioids. MedicalCannabis.com. Viewable at http://www.medicalcannabis.com/Journal-2010/vmma-press-release-41610.
Sullivan, J. (2009). Oregon Guard soldier's use of medical marijuana runs into Army's drug abuse policy. OregonLive.com. Viewable at http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/oregon_guard_soldier_use_of_me.html.
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