With an increasing demand for new soldiers, the U.S. Army has now accepted low-quality recruits, offered hundreds of millions in bonuses, and granted more waivers for cannabis use.

The army’s goal is to reach 80,000 soldiers, without compromising quality, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow, who leads its recruiting command, said.

The recruitment process consists in taking the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery exam, pass a physical examination, including a drug screening, then meet with a service enlistment counselor to discuss a soldier’s potential career, and finally take an oath.

The ones who score lower in their exam are known as Category Four and they make up a small percentage of recruited soldiers. However, the number is now growing: in 2016, the percentage was at 0.6 and in the last fiscal year, the number reached 1.9 percent. Experts are concerned about the number, and claim those soldiers are not as efficient as those who score higher on their exam.

What’s more is that if prospective soldiers admitted to have smoked cannabis, they jeopardized their military career. However, the army has now offered more cannabis waivers as legalization is spreading across the country.

According to Snow, the army needs a steady flow of recruits throughout the year, and accepting more recruits in Category 4 ensures the toughest months for recruiting, winter and spring, kept those seats full.

Snow said, “We made a conscious decision to bring in some more Category 4 soldiers during the months that it is most difficult for us to meet the training seat requirement.”