UCMJ
Marijuana
Yes, it should be legalized/decriminalized. It's use in the military should be restricted to medical purposes. As with everything in life, this should be handled on a case by case basis. Rule followers follow rules. Non-rule followers don't. If life was so simply that you could write a rule on a piece of paper and control human behavior in absolutes, we would have no need for a military.
Would this be a good thing, a bad thing, or nothing at all?
Undecided.
Ha, could have been me. I was an AC Maint Supervisor and we gave a UH-1 back to the unit and I got a call from my Maint Off about a complaint the ADF wasn't working. I drove over to the unit and the CO was in the helo performing a flight check and waved me over. He pointed to the dead dial. I looked at it, remembered my basic electronics for helo indicators and saw that
one of the AC circuit beakers was off. I switched it on, the needle swung around on the dial and I said 'You can't rush the check list.' The CO gave me a thumbs up and proceeded to yell at the co-pilot holding the check list....
I think so. Alcohol is about a thousand times worse than marijuana has ever been, but it has better PR and lobbyists.
If the military allows alcohol, which kills thousands a year, and destroys just as many careers and causes double again as many disciplinary incidents, I don't think marijuana is all that far behind.
That's like allowing people to carry shotguns but banning BB guns.
I have a two-pronged answer on this that is going to seem contradictorily, but please read through completely to understand where I am going.
For recreational purposes I would say no, because even if it is federally recognized, it would still be not operationally good for your job as a Soldier, it does make you more than just lethargic, it does have issue with memory loss and comprehension while under the influence, so that would not be good in the functional sense, and potentially dangerous depending on your job at the time.
But for medicinal purposes I would say yes, it has been proven to be helpful for many in the areas of pain relief to include cancer patients for chemo sickness and pain, PTSD sufferers, TBI sufferers, eating disorders, Lupus, diabetics, and many more. The medical community has embraced its uses and helpful capabilities. This could be a controlled environment via the senior leadership of MEDCOM command at each installation and MTF. While I know the detractors are going to say, well everyone will come up with an illness to receive it for care, but this would initially be limited to patients pending medical discharge/retirement from their ailments/injuries, and then possibly way in the future after years of being controlled and monitored consider expanding it for other SMs that are being treated and allowed to return to regular duty after either being healed for their injury/illnesses or cleared medically to return to duty.
I know this sounds weird coming from someone who spent the better part of 3 decades enforcing the law, but I have never felt that marijuana was a major problem, it is not a gateway drug as has always been portrayed, MJ users are not violent criminals as with other illegal drug users, and the only problems that you may with an MJ user is sleeping too much or possibly being overweight from always having the "munchies" with use. It is not addictive, as is alcohol and cigarettes, and no one has died from MJ use, as they have with alcohol and cigarettes, no one has ever had seizures from MJ use as they have from alcohol use. I could go on, but I think the point is made.
I understand many peoples beliefs and opinions on the issue, and I respect and don't criticize those, so hopefully I can receive the same courtesies as well. I just don't see MJ use for medical purposes as harmful or detrimental for its use within the military under these guidelines.
http://www.haaretz.com/life/science-medicine/1.614356
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