Previous cannabis consumption could have ruined your dreams of joining the United States Army however this is not the case anymore. After realizing that many of their potential recruitments were rejected for previous cannabis consumption and that many people wanted to apply for recruitment but didn’t because they knew they would be rejected the Army has rethought their policies in regards to cannabis use. According to a report found here, the Army is now forgiving past cannabis use to help gain more recruits.
It was reported in this article that in 2017 more than 500 waivers were issued by the United States Army forgiving people’s previous cannabis consumption to allow their recruitment into active duty Army status. That number jumped that high from just 191 in 2016. The report states that 3 years ago there were no such waivers being granted. It was also reported that there was a 50% increase in the overall number of recruits who required a waiver for some type of misconduct with cannabis use exclusions making up almost 25% of those totals. These waivers many believe have been directly related to the Army’s ability to recruit 69,000 individuals in 2017 which is almost 6,000 more than the year prior.
One day we hope that the need for a waiver will totally be out of the question for cannabis consumers that are willing to put their life on the line to protect their country. Until then though it is exciting to see that minds are being opened and changes are being made in regard to how cannabis consumers are viewed not only by the Army but also in general society.