Marijuana Reclassification Unlikely to Mean Any Changes for Troops and Veterans, at Least for Now

President Joe Biden's move last month to reclassify marijuana as a less risky and dangerous drug on the federal government's list of controlled substances could mark one of the most significant drug reforms in decades once finalized.

But for service members and veterans, nothing will really change. For now, marijuana use remains subject to punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and veterans are still not able to obtain the drug from Department of Veterans Affairs doctors, despite rapid and widespread legalization of cannabis at the state level. And changing that will be a long road, even after reclassification.

"Rescheduling would likely not impact members of the military any differently than those outside the military," Peter Carr, a Justice Department spokesman, told Military.com. "Marijuana will continue to be subject to criminal penalties under federal law, even if marijuana is rescheduled."

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As marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I drug, it's deemed as dangerous as heroin or LSD and therefore seen as highly likely for abuse and offering little benefit to the user. The Biden administration's plan to push it to Schedule III -- alongside items such as ketamine, steroids and testosterone -- recognizes there's lower likelihood for dependence and possible benefits.

To get marijuana fully rescheduled will take time. The draft plan is open for public comment for nearly two months, and groups can request a hearing before an administrative law judge. Only after those comments are submitted and any potential hearings held would an administrative law judge recommend a ruling to the Drug Enforcement Administration for a final scheduling decision, Carr told Military.com.

While the benefits to rescheduling mainly affect research efforts on marijuana and certain businesses can't claim certain tax benefits due to their product being a Schedule I drug, it does signify a cultural shift at the federal level, in which officials indicate that cannabis isn't as dangerous as their policies have made it out to be since at least 1970.

"This is monumental," Biden said in a video statement last month. "Far too many lives have been upended because of a failed approach to marijuana, and I'm committed to righting those wrongs. You have my word on it."

But changing the culture around the Uniform Code of Military Justice and marijuana use within the ranks is a different story.

Many of the services have been granting marijuana waivers to recruits for years, and the military has undertaken more progressive reforms in recent years as it struggles with the toughest recruiting environment in decades.

The Air Force's newest pilot program -- which allows otherwise perfect recruits who test positive for marijuana a chance to retest again and join the ranks -- allowed 350 people to join the service from September 2022 to May 1, 2024, according to the Air Force Recruiting Service. Earlier this year, the Navy announced it wasn't kicking out recruits who show up to boot camp and test positive for marijuana in their system.

Last month, a provision included in the House's version of the annual defense policy bill -- which could still be cut -- would stop marijuana testing altogether for recruits seeking to join the military.

But once any civilian fully becomes a service member, marijuana use is no longer tolerated.

UCMJ Article 112a details wrongful use and possession of controlled substances and lists by name: "opium, heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, lysergic acid diethylamide (acid/LSD), methamphetamine (meth/crystal meth), phencyclidine (angel dust), barbituric acid, marijuana, and any of their compounds or derivatives."

Furthermore, that same article also specifies "any substances listed on a schedule of controlled substances prescribed by the president, as well as those listed in Schedules I through V of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act." That would cover marijuana even after the planned reclassification by the Biden administration.

Rescheduling marijuana may have some positive effects for businesses and researchers in the civilian world, but nothing changes for those in uniform.

The federal government convicts very few individuals on charges of possession and use of marijuana. The vast and overwhelming number of those convictions happen at the state level.

Eric Carpenter, an associate professor of law at Florida International University who specializes in military justice, told Military.com in an interview that service members are one of the few federally governed groups who are still subject to those types of charges.

"That's the population that's subject to [UCMJ article 112a]. Where the rubber hits the road, there's not really going to be any change. So, the rest of it is pretty symbolic," Carpenter said.

But marijuana use has typically been treated differently from other drugs among the service branches and by some commanders, Carpenter added.

Under the UCMJ, which is prescribed by Congress, a service member convicted of using marijuana could receive a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay and possible confinement, but Carpenter said it's not uncommon for someone to receive nonjudicial punishment instead.

"It's all stuck inside the same classification within the statute, but they have traditionally been treated differently by commanders, even without Congress taking any action," Carpenter said.

The Army, Navy and Air Force have seemingly loosend up a bit, while the Marine Corps continues to be harsher with its punishment for marijuana use, he said. "The other services have already, in some ways, kind of as a norm, sort of reclassified it a little bit. They just treated it as much less serious."

Veterans who have already turned to using medical marijuana at the state level through their primary care provider will likely not see much change either. Currently, Department of Veterans Affairs doctors can't recommend marijuana, help those former service members obtain it or prescribe it, and the VA can't pay for it.

VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes told Military.com that, as it stands now, marijuana is still a Schedule I drug and VA clinicians still can't prescribe it to veterans. But if rescheduled, it could open the door to further research for medical purposes.

"President Biden asked the secretary of health and human services and the attorney general [to] initiate the administrative review of how marijuana is scheduled under federal law," Hayes told Military.com. "Once that process is complete, VA will consider appropriate next steps, including additional research on the use of marijuana for medical purposes."

Hayes added that "a veteran's use of marijuana does not impact their ability to access VA health care or benefits" and former service members can discuss that drug use with their VA provider.

On Tuesday, the House passed an amendment to the VA appropriations bill, which still must go through negotiations, that would allow VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana to veterans in states where the drug has been legalized. Similar efforts have been stricken from the final bill in past years.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a nonprofit veterans organization, joined a chorus of groups praising the rescheduling effort, saying it would ease the stigma around marijuana use for their members.

"Many veterans already use cannabis to treat their war-time wounds -- visible and invisible. They're paying out of pocket to do so, not just because it works, but because we're also the generation that grew up amidst the opioid crisis and are eager for any alternative to pills," Allison Jaslow, CEO of IAVA, said in a press release. "It's time for veterans who live in states who don't have access to legal cannabis to finally have this treatment available to them. The next step is getting the VA to pay for it."

Eventually allowing service members to use marijuana while in uniform is a tall order, especially because of long-standing norms about good order and discipline, paired with the fact that they are often utilizing heavy equipment and expensive weapons.

Carpenter said it's not likely that change will come easily within the military.

"There's the discipline part, which is just there's sort of a culture built up where it's part of the norm that you don't use marijuana," Carpenter said. "I don't think there's going to be any pressure from the inside out, like commanders saying, 'Let's go ahead and take [marijuana] off the list."

-- Rebecca Kheel contributed to this report.

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