Exclusive: Soldiers are smoking a whole lot more weed in states where it's legalized
Paul Szoldra
October 15, 2019 at 10:24 AM
Soldiers are smoking a whole lot more weed if they happen to be stationed in or near a state where it's legal, and the Army has definitely noticed.
At nine Army bases in or near marijuana-friendly states, there has been a roughly 18% increase between 2017 and 2018 in positive drug tests for THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the principal psychoactive component in cannabis. For comparison, there has been a 5% increase in soldiers testing positive for THC across the entire Army.
The statistics come from the Army Crime Report for Fiscal Year 2018, a non-public document published in Sept. that highlights criminal activity in the service and gives commanders' tips on how to address it. Task & Purpose obtained a copy of the document last week.
https://taskandpurpose.com/army-marijuana-legalization
