The key House committee has allowed an amendment that would expand the waivers available to military recruits who have tested positive for cannabis to be put to a vote on the floor, but blocked another proposal which codified servicemen’s legal use of hemp-based products.
On Tuesday, the House Rules Committee advanced the National Defense Authorization Act to the full House for consideration. One of two cannabis amendments filed was cleared for a voting.
Reps. Dave Joyce and Dina Titus co-chairs the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and sponsored the proposed amendment regarding marijuana recruitment policies.
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.”
However, the Air Force Space Force and Marine Corps are urged to take action, “especially given the continued recruitment and retainment challenges that undermine the Armed Forces’ readiness goals”.
This proposed amendment to the NDAA would force these military branches to develop and implement a permanent waiver process comparable to that used by the Army or Navy.
The law states that “the secretary of Defense shall develop a waiver program for those potential enlistees in the Armed Forces that were denied enlistment due to a toxicology result for tetrahydrocannabinol, so that these potential enlistees may reapply to enlist.”
In addition, the Department of Defense must “assess” the feasibility of “contacting” those who have been previously refused enlistment due to their cannabis-related offenses and, “to a degree that is feasible, create a plan of contact with such potential enlistees.”
The defense secretary must submit to congressional committees within 180 days after the law is passed a plan to “create, distribute, and use” a definition which highlights the fact that waived recruits can still enlist even though they don’t meet all enlistment standards. Existing standards for enlistment also allow 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. It was left out of the final law that was passed after bicameral talks with the Senate.
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-TX, filed an amendment to the latest NDAA which would prevent the Secretary of Defense from “preventing a member from the Armed Forces, from possessing or using a hemp product or any other ingredient derived hemp if the possession, use or consumption of such a hemp product or hemp-derived ingredients is compliant with the applicable Federal, state and local laws.”
The Gonzales amendment was made without a formal floor vote and appeared to respond to several policy updates by various branches of the military that had banned service members from using marijuana, even legal hemp products.
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.