Defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance says the military is currently wrestling with the implications of marijuana legalization, including whether to set certain time periods between when a service member uses the drug and when they go on duty.
Vance says he does not envision a complete ban or prohibition on military personnel or even certain occupations such as pilots and that he plans to take a common-sense approach that follows the law of the land.
But he says service members do dangerous and serious work and he doesn’t want them to do it stoned, which is why certain restrictions will need to be adopted, as is already the case with alcohol.
Vance says the issue isn’t unique to the military as police forces, commercial airlines and other industries and organizations face the same questions.
The military’s surgeon general is looking at different initiatives to get a better understanding of the effects of the drug, including how long its effects last.
Vance says the priority is to make sure military personnel as well as those around them are safe.
