Canadian Military Considers Policy On Cannabis
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap]s Canada nears legalizing cannabis on the federal level, the country’s military is formulating a plan on how to deal with cannabis consumption among members of the armed forces.
The bill to legalize cannabis in Canada, entitled C-45, is waiting in the House of Commons to approve amendments. While the country waits, the Canadian Armed Forces has a draft of its policy to restrict cannabis consumption. It has been working for months on the new policy, studying the legal and medical influence of the upcoming changes to create their new policy, which restricts cannabis more than alcohol. “There’s no total ban at this point,” said Lt.-Gen. Chuck Lamarre, chief of military personnel. “We can’t do that. If the law says it’s no longer criminal to have it in your possession, it’s not a criminal act. You just can’t ban it outright.”
The Canadian military has a zero-tolerance policy on drug use and a history of drug testing for “safety-sensitive” positions. Some military organizations, including the Royal Canadian Air Force, have been arguing for an outright ban on cannabis for certain occupations, including pilots. Each branch commander for the Canadian military has been asked to designate certain jobs which will be subject to restrictions for specific time periods and circumstances.
The military has had pressure from senior commanders for years to expand the list of occupations subject to drug screening. However, former Judge Advocate General Blaise Cathart has argued that banning cannabis in the military would be an uphill battle once its legalized in the country.
Cannabis has been the substance of choice for service members, especially young non-commissioned members. Five-point-three percent of drug tests indicate that military members tested positive for cannabis in a 2013 analysis. However, there is no expectation for cannabis consumption to rise when cannabis is legalized. “I don’t anticipate a whole whack of sparking up,” Lamarre continued. He believes that since most people join the military to do challenging things they will stay away from anything that keeps them away from that work.”
