GOP Lawmakers Seek To Expand Marijuana Waivers For Military Recruits And Allow Service Members To Use Hemp

Republican lawmakers in Congress have filed amendments to a must-pass
defense bill aimed at expanding waivers for military recruits who’ve tested
positive for marijuana and codifying that service members can lawfully use
hemp products.

The proposed amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
from Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX) will be taken up by
the House Rules Committee, which will determine whether they’re made in
order for floor consideration.

Joyce, co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, filed the amendment
on cannabis and military recruitment policy.

The measure acknowledges that the Army and Navy have already “taken
positive steps in their work to design and implement a waiver system that
permits potential enlistees into the Armed Forces to reapply for enlistment
following a positive toxicology test for tetrahydrocannabinol.”

But Joyce is calling on the Air Force, Space Force and Marine Corps to
follow through, especially “given the ongoing recruitment and retention
challenges undermining the Armed Forces readiness goals.”

The amendment calls on those military branches to “develop and implement
their own permanent waiver system commensurate with the process employed by
the Army and Navy.”

It says that the secretary of defense “shall develop a program through
which to provide waivers for potential enlistees into the Armed Forces who
were not permitted to enlist following a positive toxicology test for
tetrahydrocannabinol so that such potential enlistees are permitted to
reapply for enlistment.”

Further, the Department of Defense would be required to “assess the
feasibility of contacting” prospective enlistees who were previously
rejected over cannabis and, “to the extent feasible, develop a plan to
contact such potential enlistees.”

Within 180 days of enactment, the defense secretary would need to submit a
report to the congressional committees of jurisdiction with a “plan to
create, disseminate, and use a clear definition that highlights that all
waivered recruits are qualified and eligible to enlist in the Armed Forces,
even if they do not meet every enlistment standard, and that existing
standards of enlistment allow for waivers.”

The House last year passed a version of the NDAA that would have prevented
drug testing for marijuana as a condition of enlistment in the military or
for commission as an officer. But it was not included in the final version
that was signed into law following bicameral negotiations with the Senate.

Meanwhile, Gonzales filed an amendment to the latest NDAA that would make
it so the secretary of defense could not “prohibit a member of the Armed
Forces from possessing, using, or consuming a product containing hemp or
any ingredient derived from hemp if such possession, use, or consumption is
in compliance with applicable Federal, State, and local law.”

This appears to be responsive to a series of policy updates from various
military branches that have banned the use of cannabis, including legal
hemp products, by service members.

In February, for example, a memo to Air Force personnel in Massachusetts
warned that not only marijuana but also hemp-derived cannabinoids,
including CBD and delta-8 THC, are prohibited on military bases and related
properties.

In 2022, the Air Force expressed concern that even using CBD-infused hand
sanitizer or hemp granola could inadvertently compromise “military
readiness.”

After its initial 2019 announcement, DOD more broadly reaffirmed that CBD
is off limits to service members in notices published in 2020.

The Navy, for its part, issued an initial notice in 2018 informing ranks
that they’re barred from using CBD and hemp products no matter their
legality. Then in 2020 it released an update explaining why it enacted the
rule change.

The Coast Guard said that sailors can’t use marijuana or visit state-legal
dispensaries.

Separately, a general in 2022 said that the Air Force and Space Force were
reviewing marijuana policies and considering a “common sense” change that
could give potential recruits a pass if they test positive for cannabis.

*Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.*

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Recruits And Allow Service Members To Use Hemp appeared first on Marijuana
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