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Should troops stationed in CO and WA be allowed recreational use of marijuana?

Should troops stationed in CO and WA be allowed recreational use of marijuana?

  • I am for legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say yes.

    Votes: 18 50.0%

  • I am against legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say yes.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • I am for legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say no.

    Votes: 12 33.3%

  • I am against legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say no.

    Votes: 4 11.1%

  • Other/I do not know.

    Votes: 2 5.6%
  • Total voters
    36
I say yes. Troops are allowed recreational use of alcohol; marijuana is no different. If anything, weed is more benign than alcohol.

However, the military has their own code of discipline, etc., so I would imagine that using marijuana, like alcohol, would be restricted by place, time, off duty only, etc. I still think it should be allowed, but since the military is a federal not a state institution, I rather doubt that will come to pass unless and until recreational marijuana is legal on a federal level.
 
jamesrage said:
Should troops stationed in Colorado and Washington be allowed recreational use of marijuana? What say you?


I am for legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say yes.
I am against legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say yes.
I am for legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say no.
I am against legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say no.
Other/I do not know.


I say yes.I think that considering the fact we are having our troops sacrifice for their lives then they should be allowed to have all the vices they can.Basically they should be treated like a make a wish kid except with booze, hookers, dirty magazines, alcohol marijuana and etc.
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I had to go with other as I am not really for or against legalization, fitting in somewhere between entirely apathetic and thinking it just ain't worth the time and effort to change. So neither set of options fit. However, to answer the actual question: no, they should not be allowed, for any number of reasons but mostly for simple fairness since military personal in other states would not be able to. Also because a stoner military is bad.
 
jamesrage said:
Should troops stationed in Colorado and Washington be allowed recreational use of marijuana? What say you?


I am for legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say yes.
I am against legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say yes.
I am for legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say no.
I am against legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say no.
Other/I do not know.


I say yes.I think that considering the fact we are having our troops sacrifice for their lives then they should be allowed to have all the vices they can.Basically they should be treated like a make a wish kid except with booze, hookers, dirty magazines, alcohol marijuana and etc.
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No. What if Colorado and Washington are attacked and our troops aren't ready? It would be a disaster. They'd take Seattle in a heartbeat.
 
Sherman123 said:
No. What if Colorado and Washington are attacked and our troops aren't ready? It would be a disaster. They'd take Seattle in a heartbeat.
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And the downside to them taking Seattle is?
 
Sherman123 said:
No. What if Colorado and Washington are attacked and our troops aren't ready? It would be a disaster. They'd take Seattle in a heartbeat.
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So you think 'the troops' would be high while on duty? Why not drunk on duty? Or how about off post knocking down some sad sack civilian's wife when the balloon goes up???

it seems a very odd argument.
 
Gipper said:
I'll admit - I'm not intimately knowledgeable about how it works.
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I'd say you're not even passingly familiar with 'how it works'....

On duty has a very high standard for vigilance and responsibility. The military punishes many things that civilians routinely do.

But work hard and play hard is the motto of many who risk life and limb in defense of a bunch of 'have no idea' civilians.

When grunts come out of the field, spend the night cleaning equipment and weapons for turn in, grab a shower and a few hours sleep they are ready to let it rip. It is PARTY TIME.

Perhaps you are confusing folks who's primary job is to kill people and break things with the clergy... :peace
 
Normally I would agree with those who say that troops should be governed by Federal Law. However, I don't recognize the Federal law on this as being a 'regulation of commerce' (despite the Supreme Court ruling to the contrary), so I don't consider the Federal Law as being legitimate. Luckily I don't like the effect of Marijuana on me, so I don't have to personally worry about legalization. I use the much much more dangerous drug, liquor, instead.
 
notquiteright said:
So you think 'the troops' would be high while on duty? Why not drunk on duty? Or how about off post knocking down some sad sack civilian's wife when the balloon goes up???

it seems a very odd argument.
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It was obviously sarcasm.
 
jamesrage said:
Should troops stationed in Colorado and Washington be allowed recreational use of marijuana? What say you?


I am for legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say yes.
I am against legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say yes.
I am for legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say no.
I am against legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say no.
Other/I do not know.


I say yes.I think that considering the fact we are having our troops sacrifice for their lives then they should be allowed to have all the vices they can.Basically they should be treated like a make a wish kid except with booze, hookers, dirty magazines, alcohol marijuana and etc.
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Not unless they love Article 15's.

http://www.armycourtmartialdefense.com/Article_15_UCMJ.pdf

Wrongful Drug Use or Possession
 
Gipper said:
I'll admit - I'm not intimately knowledgeable about how it works. If you're just a typical forty-a-week plebe not doing anything vital or dangerous, I'm good with it.
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OldWorldOrder already did a pretty good job of explaining it but I'll just toss something extra in. The military already has a pretty good structure in limiting chemical intake in soldiers when they shouldn't be. If they're in garrison, they can drink and do what they want off duty, however in training or during a deployment, all mind altering substances are extremely prohibited, tested for, and regulated.

I mean, I was in the infantry for 4 years, so I know the kinds of things that happen. Men will drink a fifth a night of jack then still be hungover at PT. The advantage to marijuana is that it only takes about 2 hours for it to wear off, and it's more likely that they'll just fall asleep around 1-2 AM instead of breaking bottles over people's heads in the streets like they do now.

AJiveMan said:
Nope, commanders are bound to follow the letter of military UCMJ (laws)

If CO's allow it, they'd be in violation of the UCMJ and subject to court martial.

912a. ARTICLE 112a. WRONGFUL USE, POSSESSION, ETC., OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES « UCMJ – United States Code of Military Justice

UCMJ – United States Code of Military Justice
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The question isn't whether it's currently legal, but rather should it be legal. I think it should, do you disagree?
 
If it won't affect either their training or their effectiveness while on duty - they could shoot heroin for all I care.

They are being asked to potentially make the ultimate sacrifice for WAY less then ultimate money...what they do on their own time (alone or with consenting adults) is no one's business but theirs.
 
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DA60 said:
If it won't affect either their training or their effectiveness while on duty - they could shoot heroin for all I care.

They are being asked to potentially make the ultimate sacrifice for WAY less then ultimate money...what they do on their own time (alone or with consenting adults) is no one's business but theirs.
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The way I see it is kind of like what one of my former leaders would always say to us when we would ask to do something "If it's a problem, it's a problem, if not, it's not."

While he wasn't talking about drug use I still see pretty much anything as falling under this category. If soldier Bob shoots up in the evenings but can still perform his job, then it's really not any of my business. The second he stops being able to effectively do his job, then it becomes my business and everyone else's.
 
No.

They even discourage drinking - and riding motorcycles - as it can hinder your ability to perform when called on (and these two are legal).

Reporting for duty while high would fast-track your ass to demerits and eventually out the Army. They expect you to be more mature than the whims of teenage fancy, not to cave into them.

Aside that: people people stationed in a state are not resident of that state, they're resident of a different state. But of course CO didn't consider that if it voted yes they'd be providing for people across borders. (Heck, another state ran into this issue and that was in regard to a recycling program - not even illicit substances)
 
jamesrage said:
Should troops stationed in Colorado and Washington be allowed recreational use of marijuana? What say you?


I am for legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say yes.
I am against legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say yes.
I am for legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say no.
I am against legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say no.
Other/I do not know.


I say yes.I think that considering the fact we are having our troops sacrifice for their lives then they should be allowed to have all the vices they can.Basically they should be treated like a make a wish kid except with booze, hookers, dirty magazines, alcohol marijuana and etc.
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Oh, wow - good question! I actually had to think about it, which is more than one usually has to do with a lot of comments here. I am for legalization of marijuana for recreational use...but until it becomes legalized nationwide, I say "no" to use by the military. I am retired military. I smoked weed twice while on active duty (when I was young and stupid, and it was back in the days before urinalysis tests were the norm), I've had friends discharged because they "popped positive", I've been a urinalysis coordinator and sent people up for non-judicial punishment for smoking weed, and I've looked with scorn at the report of one of our senior chiefs on board who popped positive...two months before he was due to retire. He just. couldn't. wait. I don't feel sorry for him at all - but I feel very sorry for his wife and kids.

So...yeah, I know something about it from the military side.

I am opposed to the military allowing it until it is legal nationwide because while it's not physically addictive, marijuana - like almost anything else - can be psychologically habit-forming. If we allow our military to follow state laws, then when Sailor Joe Schmuckatelli gets transferred from here in Puget Sound where he can smoke weed to, say, the Naval base down in Meridian, Mississippi where the politics revolves around God, guns, and we-hate-Obama...Sailor Joe is essentially getting set up for failure. He'll do it sooner or later, then pop positive on a urinalysis, and life sucks for a long time.

Don't get me wrong - I wish we'd legalize weed nationwide today, including in the military. But allowing the military to follow the local laws state-by-state sets people up for failure...and for that reason, I'm against it.
 
Unitedwestand13 said:
i think this is a issue best left to the commanding officers.
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On a per unit or base basis?

Leave it up to individual prejudices against pot? I would think the same rules they use for liquor would work.
 
Sherman123 said:
No. What if Colorado and Washington are attacked and our troops aren't ready? It would be a disaster. They'd take Seattle in a heartbeat.
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You are making the assumption that they would be stoned 24/7 instead of just on their time off.Troops are not drunk 24/7 so why would they be stoned 24/7?
 
OldWorldOrder said:
Troops aren't always on the job, dude. They're not walking around 24/7 with rifles.
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You're wrong about that. They may not be walking around 24/7 with rifles. They are however subject to recall 24/7. It's happened before.
 
Paxaeon said:
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For certain occupations, I can see the logic behind restricted use of alcohol, marijuana and drug use. First priority; All elected government officials.
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Doctors? Educators?

Just in response to the OP....

The reality is that military personnel are covered by a different set of rules. The same rules that might add extra restrictions in the states will save their asses in a foreign country. Part of the gig.
 
BMCM said:
You're wrong about that. They may not be walking around 24/7 with rifles. They are however subject to recall 24/7. It's happened before.
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Of course it's happened. And if they're drunk, no one is going to care.
 
If they are allowed to drink alcohol, they should be allowed to smoke marijuana. Especially since alcohol is much more likely to cause them to injure themselves/someone else or cause a serious weapons accident or something.
 
jamesrage said:
The poll question assumes that would be changed,which is what the poll questions asks if they should be allowed to.Meaning it was made legal.
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Illegal drugs as defined by the US Government will not be made legal anytime soon, so, never assume anything, to do so is foolish.
 
jamesrage said:
Should troops stationed in Colorado and Washington be allowed recreational use of marijuana? What say you?


I am for legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say yes.
I am against legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say yes.
I am for legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say no.
I am against legalized recreational use of marijuana and I say no.
Other/I do not know.


I say yes.I think that considering the fact we are having our troops sacrifice for their lives then they should be allowed to have all the vices they can.Basically they should be treated like a make a wish kid except with booze, hookers, dirty magazines, alcohol marijuana and etc.
Click to expand...

I'm in favor of legalization, but until such time that the federal government legalizes it federal employees, including troops, should not use marijuana. The states legalizing it doesn't impact that. If they want to smoke they can take employment with a state entity or private entity rather than federal.
 
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