Army bases within states with recreational marijuana laws have witnessed an increase in soldiers testing positive for marijuana use.
The Army Crime Report for Fiscal Year 2018 revealed a 5% increase in soldiers testing positive for tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly known as THC, which is the primary psychoactive chemical in marijuana.
While there was a 5% uptick nationwide, the increase in positive THC test was more than triple that in bases in or near states with fully recreational marijuana laws. The report outlined an 18% increase of positive THC test.
In the report, the Army expressed concern that marijuana legalization could decrease military readiness. It says, “Current data suggests that decriminalization and legalization of marijuana may be beginning to show signs of impacting Army readiness, but the effects are not localized to the states where legalization has occurred.”
Lt. Col. Manny Ortiz, an Army spokesman, told Task and Purpose the report was meant only for internal use to provide leadership with data to improve readiness.
“This internal document is a crime reduction tool which includes actionable recommendations to enhance good order and discipline through learning points, real-life vignette and standardized crime statistics,” Ortiz said. “Commanders, senior leaders and program managers can use these recommendations to focus their efforts on crime prevention that will assist them with preserving readiness in their organizations.”
Nine states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational usage of marijuana. Illinois recently became the tenth state to fully legalize the drug, which will go into effect on Jan. 1.
