by Kyle Jaeger
Schedule 6 Foundation
September 28, 2022
Duluth Air Expo, Duluth, Minn., July 16, 2022. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. Jessica B. Kind)
The Air Force and Space Force are now giving recruits a second chance to enlist if they test positive for marijuana during the enlistment process.
The U.S. military branches announced the drug screening policy change last week following a review that was first revealed last month. For now, the reform is being enacted on a trial basis under a pilot program that will end in September 2024.
While active duty service members are still strictly barred from using cannabis—regardless of state laws—recruits who score high enough on their qualification tests, don’t have convictions on their records and otherwise meet enlistment standards are eligible for a waiver if they initially test positive for THC metabolites. The waiver will allow prospective pilots and space cadets to retake the drug test after 90 days.
“Previously, a positive THC result on the initial test would have led to a permanent bar from entry,” an Air Force spokesperson told Air Force Times, which first reported the pilot program. But now, for “those who have been granted a waiver pass a second test, candidates will be allowed to enlist.”
The military branches will review the results of the pilot program after two years to determine whether they will make the policy permanent, which would align them with other divisions of the military like the Army, Navy and Marine Corps....
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