DoD to test troops for Spice
Troops taking random drug tests will now be scanned for the synthetic drug known as "spice."
Army Lt. Col. Tom Martin, director of the Department of Defense's drug testing and program policy, told American Forces Press Service that spice has been added to the list of drugs for which the Pentagon is testing:
“The message we’re getting out now is that when you participate in our random urinalysis program, synthetic marijuana products or synthetic marijuana will now be tested along with our other drugs. It’s been known in the general population, both in the medical community and various media reports, that synthetic marijuana drug use is a serious health concern.”
All service members, even those deployed, are subject to random drug testing.
If a troop tests positive, bad things happen, according to Martin:
“Any service member who tests positive for either an illicit drug or misuse of a prescription drug falls under any actions deemed appropriate under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, as well actions that are appropriate as deemed by their commander."
In addition to spice, the list of drugs the DoD tests for includes marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy, codeine, morphine, oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, Vicodin, Valium and Xanax.
