Rep. Matt Gaetz has proposed an modification to a must-pass spending invoice that may finish marijuana testing for members of the navy once they’re enlisting or receiving a fee. 

The modification is a part of a deluge of add-ons lately proposed to be a part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The spending bundle will probably be one of many precedence payments the House tackles subsequent week following Congress’ July Fourth recess. 

Mr. Gaetz, Florida Republican, pointed to points with recruiting and retaining folks to serve within the navy as a cause for the modification, calling the problem “a crisis unlike any other time in American history.” 

Military officers stated final month that the armed forces are dealing with one of many worst recruiting environments up to now 50 years. 

The service branches, apart from the Marine Corps, are anticipated to fall wanting recruitment objectives by the tip of this fiscal yr in September. 

“I do not believe that prior use of cannabis should exclude Americans from enlisting in the armed forces,” Mr. Gaetz stated on social media Wednesday. “We should embrace them for stepping up to serve our country.” 

The modification might additionally sort out one other concern within the navy: a rising variety of recruits who check constructive for marijuana. The New York Times reported that almost 33% extra recruits examined constructive for the drug in 2022 than in 2020.

Mr. Gaetz’s modification will not be the one proposal geared toward addressing marijuana utilization within the navy. 

One modification seeks to let docs and different well being care suppliers below the Department of Veterans Affairs advocate that veterans use marijuana for remedy in states the place the plant is authorized. 

The modification was proposed by Congressional Cannabis Caucus members Brian Mast, Florida Republican; Barbara Lee, California Democrat; Earl Blumenauer, Oregon Democrat; and Dave Joyce, Ohio Republican. 

Another modification proposed by Rep. Tony Gonzales, Texas Republican, would let service members use pot merchandise which can be authorized below federal and state legal guidelines.

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