Marines face discharge for smoking legal substance

[Integrity57]

I guess it's probably looked at as one is straight up illegal for anyone to buy, possess, or use and the other you have to be of legal age to attain and that legal age somehow infers a competence in decision making (which isn't always true in some folks case.) But regardless, if this **** has the same effects as weed then it's logical to say that it's use by service members will eventually be outlawed. Not to mention how ****ing dumb these Marines had to be to smoke that **** in their barracks, I mean what the ****, over?

[commdog7]

They knew it was a drug. They knew drugs are not tolerated in the Corps. They know the Corps has a higher set of standards than the civilians world. Instead of playing it safe and asking their command if it was okay to smoke it, they did it anyways under the lame excuse of 'oh, this PFC didn't know...'. They were doing drugs in the barracks, and now they are facing the consequences of their actions. I say burn 'em.

Alcohol does impair an individual, but it is not categorized as a drug in Marine Corps terminology. The government tried banning alcohol once, but it didn't work out. The Marine Corps views alcohol as a morale booster, and only prohibits it during working hours (8 hrs prior), in combat zones, and during special circumstances. The Corps wants to limit impairment of Marines, not extend it. As of now, impairment is limited to alcohol; drugs are not tolerated.

[Phantom Blooper]

would that count for wrapping your own cigarettes too?

I don't know.....I bought rolled cigarettes....I rolled a few for my dad years ago....


However the past ten years or so I have been going into convenience stores to buy lottery tickets and just about every time I go in a young kid is coming to the counter buying a few tall beers and asking for blunts of different flavors....being naive years back I asked the person behind the counter what a blunt was.

I was told to put pot in....used to and still can use cigars they claim...but a blunt makes it cleaner to use....the stores make money...manufactures make money....but I would venture to say that all of this can be technically be called drug related paraphernalia....

I guess we can say that anything can be used depending how creative one wants to be....however if you have it in your possession it is for one reason and it should be illegal....

It took awhile for Ecstasy to be outlawed too....until they found out that it would kill ya....maybe the Marine Corps will now go Corps wide with an ALLMAR and put a stop to this stupid shiat.

Or it could be argued that I roll my own cigarettes....just have the proper papers and tobacco to go with it....not all the funny psychedelic things that have nothing to do with nicotine/smoking products....

But the young Marines above are still trying to play the system by acting stupid.....if they are still just in school they aren't that far from the streets or the roads of the former life.

They may get out of it....but the charge of stupidity for smoking in the barracks is what started it all.....so scratch one....Camp Johnson must have serving plates of dumbazz for supper that day.

[stretchusa]

MARFORPAC has banned spice for all servicemembers assigned to the command not sure about the rest of the Corps. MARFORPAC banned due to the effects and the prevelance of the drug in Asia

[Vandrel]

drugs are not tolerated.

Correct, zero tollerance for illegal substances

But if something isn't legal then it seems a little over the hill to boot someone out for something that wasn't illegal, infact, if they were smart they could file a lawsuit, more so if they were never told they couldn't smoke that specific item which again isn't illegal and there wasn't a standing MCO against it.

In my eyes the proper thing to do would have been to evaluate the situation and results and then make a recommendation to publish a MCO and all future incidents chargable.

I'm not defending anyone that uses this stuff cause I think it's pretty stupid in the first place to smoke stuff like that, but I think there's still a fine line that should be established regarding it.

Here's a non-illegal drug,

Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that is a psychoactive stimulant drug.

Not very up on the list of drugs cause of the mild effects but we can go a step further with say, Green Monsters (Monster Energy Drinks)

In the US, energy drinks have been linked with reports of nausea, abnormal heart rhythms and emergency room visits.^[14] The drinks may cause seizures due to the "crash" following the energy high that occurs after consumption.^[15] Caffeine dosage is not required to be on the product label for food in the United States, unlike drugs, but some advocates are urging the FDA to change this practice.^[16]

I'm sure someone who drinks 10 Green Monsters in 1 day would probably be pretty messed up and unable to perform duties. But oddly things that enhance or relate to physical activety are greatly accepted by the military with the exception of roids of course, then on the other side the ones that don't pertain to PT or general alertness are frowned upon because they "slow you down" so to speak.

I think I might be going a little to far indepth on this one, it's late

[commdog7]

What's legal in the civilian world isn't always legal in the Marine Corps. The effects of spice are 10 times that of marijuana, therefore they knew it was a drug and they knew it was frowned upon in the Corps. But they did it anyways, because they know it does not show up on a p!ss test. They tried to cheat the system and they failed.

Every once in a while, a new drug comes out that catches people's attention. It takes time for the government to make these new drugs illegal, just as it takes time for the Corps to identify these drugs and establish an order banning their use. It is not okay for Marines to do whatever new drugs come out before they get officially banned. Marines should know better. All Marines with the intention of cheating the system with drug use should face punitive action.

If you drink 10 Monsters and are unable to perform your military duties because of it, then you can get NJP'ed. Just like sunburns- sunburns aren't illegal, but if you get one bad enough where it affects your ability to work, you can get NJP'ed.

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Stupid. Little to no sympathy.

[MUSTANG0369]

Agree with Leprechaun..........These Marines, and I use that term loosely, know that drugs arent tolerated.........really are we concerned with technicalities? I would hope not. They can do that stuff when they get out.

For the record, both spice and saliva(sp) have been outlawed for a while, ignorance is not innocence. This is running rampid and is the "talk of the town."

[HOWARDROARK3043]

make an alter strike a match --if it lights then burn them,,,,,,,that would be cool to see a 1st Sgt. with a "burn them" alter.......it would scare me

[mjhpgh]

For the ones in denial . Glue is not illegal -sniffing it to get high is .Spray paint and dust off is not illegal -huffing it is . I think all of the DOD has banned this stuff. I have not heard of "spice" till I saw this thread. If someone told me you can smoke this legal stuff and get high I would not .We are in he military, they can make it prohibited if they want .

[DanM]

Although "spice" is not illegal in the USA,it is illegal in most other countries.If you haven't looked up the info,see link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice_(drug)

[Cherie]

I had heard about spice from some Airforce folks back in a-school and they had basically said that it gives you the same high that marijuana does but won't show up on a urinalysis - exactly like the article says. I'm willing to bet that these folks decided to smoke this knowing those facts. I don't really have any sympathy for them. If you decide to partake in something you know is borderline illegal, you probably shouldn't be doing it.

[echo3oscar1833]

What is legal is not always right. These Marines where wrong, and should be held accountable. They voluntarly used a drug that they knew would cause them to be imparied. Yes you could argue the point that currently the use of itself is not illegal. However the use of it in the Military, can cause other charges to be brought against you. Not to mention in a nutshell it is detrimental to good order and dicipline.

[Rocky C]

What is legal is not always right. These Marines where wrong, and should be held accountable. They voluntarly used a drug that they knew would cause them to be imparied. Yes you could argue the point that currently the use of itself is not illegal. However the use of it in the Military, can cause other charges to be brought against you. Not to mention in a nutshell it is detrimental to good order and dicipline.

Well said Ben .
Semper Fi,
Rocky

[SlingerDun]

Naw don't ruin a kids future for smokin something that ain't officially illegal yet.

6 months on scullery/bilge or some other ass kickin duty. Reduction in rank/fine. Give him a chance to think it out and regroup.

--->Dave