Marijuana and the Military

Marijuana and the Military

Uncle Sam doesn't smile kindly on Tokers in uniform.

The following is from the February 2011 High Times , Buzz Section , Page 16

Article 112a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or UCMJ -- the foundation of US milirtary law -- states that illicit drug possesion, use, and manufacturing by any military personnel (or civilian subject to the UCMJ) is punishable by court-martial. Besides pot, this includes opium, heroin, cocaine, speed, LSD and every other outlawed narcotic. Those accused of drug crimes will stand trial, and if found guilty of violating Article 112a, are given a dishonorable discharge. A dishonorable discharge results in losing all veterans' benefits (including disability), as well as a lifetime ban on personal firearm ownership.

The proliferation of medical marijuana use in the last two decades has resulted in conflicts between a patient's right to self-medicate (especially if they reside in a state where medical pot is illegal) and the military's zero tolerance pot policy. As reported in the Oregonian, Spc. Richelle Golden, 39, of the Oregon Army National Gaurd, suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome (an auroimmune disease destroying glands that produce tears and saliva).

Wheelchair-bound, Golden got a medicinal marijuana recommendation in Oregon last January, not expecting to receive active-duty orders just one month later. She reported to an Army medical center in Washington State in February, still in a wheelchair and declaring she was a medical marijuana patient, expecting to be retired from military service. Instead, she was given an "Article 15", which is non-judicial punishment by the military -- no court-martial necessary. Not surprisingly, Golden failed an urinalysis test for pot and was soon busted to the rank of private, put on probation and restricted to barracks. She wants an open court-martial in order to have a chance to win her case and regain her freedom.

Golden's predicament is especially curious given that the policy of the Oregon Guard since 2007 requires soldiers to declare medical marijuana use and appear before a medical board. The soldier is offered treatment options other than pot, but must quit pot or the Guard. Apparently, Golden wasn't offered these options, but was instead locked down for "wrongful marijuana use," officially flagged as a "drug addict". Iin May 2010, US Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) called for an investigation in to possiblke Army discrimination against National Guard Soldiers in response to the Golden case, a potentially encouraging outcome to an otherwise unjust story.

In the Summer of 2009, an even more bizarre case involving marijuana and the military transpired. During "Operation Endless Summer", "San Diego's District Attorney filed drug charges against 33 individuals, ostensibly to "protect military housing" in the city, which has a high-profile US Navy presence. However, 14 pf those arrested were actually medical pot patients, who were initially targeted as part of police entrapment tactics focused on San Diego dispensaries. Furthermore, a number of those charged in "Endless Summer" had no military connections. Fortunately, two of the 14 patients who have gone to trial have been acquitted by jury.

In 2004, a Bay Area rapper/soldier named Singe was snapped with an Iraqi pot plant growing wild. That shot landed on the cover of Grow America (a High Times spin-off), and eventually resulted in a confrontation with his commanding officer. Singe admitted to posing in uniform with the plant, but he wasn't discharged; he was told he was too good a soldier.

Before Singe served a second tour of duty in Iraq in 2008, HIGH TIMES conducted a follow-up interview with him. He stated that he had been told that President George W Bush had been briefed and actually shown the cover photo. Singe also disclosed that on the front lines, commanding officers "look the other way" when it comes to pot or hash use.  -- Singe's High Times Interview Video Below --