Thor Benson / Cannabis News Box Contributor

The Army has officially decided it’s okay with recruits having smoked cannabis before joining the service, but many think that it’s not going far enough. Recruits are still not allowed to use cannabis while they’re in the military, and Department of Veterans Affairs doctors still can’t prescribe much-needed medical cannabis to veterans to treat issues like PTSD and chronic pain.

“The Army now believes that cannabis is acceptable for soldiers to use before they join the military, but not once they have enlisted, and certainly not once they’ve left the service and have to deal with the lasting psychological scars of warfare,” Merry Jane wrote on the topic.

The Army is currently having trouble recruiting enough young people, so this is clearly a move to increase recruitment numbers. The way it is handling people who used cannabis in the past is by issuing them “waivers,” which essentially means they’re agreeing to look the other way on something that would have previously blocked the recruit from joining. The number of waivers issued for cannabis use went from under 200 last year to over 500 so far in 2017.

“It truly amazes me the mental gymnastics government bureaucrats do to justify their policies,” Sean Kiernan, president of the Weed for Warriors Project, told Cannabis News Box.

He said that changing this policy shows a level of “hypocrisy” that is “emotionally numbing.” While dozens of veterans commit suicide every day, often because of issues like PTSD and pain, the Army only decides to partially change its stance on cannabis just to benefit itself. Kiernan said the Army has a long history of “destructive cannabis policies” that came before this decision.

“We should never be surprised what government can justify when it serves their interest, and is their any bigger interest in government than the military industrial complex?” Kiernan said.

Kiernan said it’s not surprising that the Department of Defense can unilaterally decide past cannabis use is okay so it can increase its recruitment numbers. But, that politicians can’t get cannabis legalized nationwide, because he believes the Department of Defense has more power than basically any other group in the government.

Maj. Gen. Jeff Snow, the head of the Army’s recruiting command, said in a statement that the number of recruits receiving waivers for past cannabis use could continue to increase. However, he’s hoping that it does not.

It’s great that past cannabis use is being forgiven, but it seems the military still has a long way to go when it comes to its drug policies.