The US Air Force made a point of issuing a press release reminding servicemembers that using marijuana is still illegal for them — even if the state in which they live just legalized it.
The state of Colorado voted to legalize marijuana Nov. 6, but its use is still against federal law and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, even for service members stationed in or visiting the state.
“(Colorado’s) Amendment 64 does not change the UCMJ… Read more
There are often long discussions on the military’s ability to influence or govern the private conduct of its members — whether over issues of alcohol, chewing tobacco, smoking, divorce, sexuality, or other aspects of what many people consider behavior unrelated to “official” conduct. As has been shown in many cases, the military can (and does) regulate the behavior of its troops, even when potential restrictions may be entirely legal and permissible in civilian life.
The use of “spice,” which is reportedly unregulated and commonly available in smoke shops and related retail outlets, is one such example. While it may be entirely legal for a civilian to purchase and “use” spice, which is described as a “synthetic marijuana” with components difficult to detect with normal drug tests, most military Read more
Many debates about restrictions on personal choices in the military often devolve to what the military is allowed to do with regard to “victimless” crimes or things that are legal outside the military.
The Air Force — notably, not the Department of Defense — recently changed a regulation to expand the prohibition on “mood altering substances.”
The revised language makes punitive the prohibition in the current Air Force Instruction regarding the ingestion of any substance, other than alcohol or tobacco, for the purpose of altering mood or function…
The guidance cited the designer drug “spice,” salvia divinorum, inhalants, household chemicals, solvents and prescription drug abuse.
As noted earlier, the Air Force has already discharged Airmen over use of “spice,” something which is legal in most jurisdictions in the United States.
To remind those who quickly forget, the US military can — and does — regulate personal conduct, even if that conduct is legal outside of the military and even if that “private choice” is believed not to affect any other person.