"Spice" and My Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps has recently banned the use of ‘spice’. Spice is synthetic marijuana, obviously smoked to achieve a feeling of intoxication, or buzz. From my understanding, it is a chemical smoked blend of herbs, intended to be burnt as incense; and not for human digestion. That’s what makes the risk so high with spice. Since it isn’t intended for human consumption, no human testing has been conducted. So you never know what is really in it, or what it is going to do to you.
The chemicals are almost undetectable on routine urinalysis test, but its detection will get you punished under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and/or kicked out of the military. It is illegal in Europe, yet remains legal in the United States.

The problem with spice, as I see it, isn’t that its necessary bad for you. The problem arises when you have men with loaded weapons, and impaired judgment. Marines or military members in general are often put into situations where the man to their left or their right, is placing his life in their hands. I wouldn’t want to place my life in the hands of a Marine acting as Cheech or Chong. If I’m going to have to trust someone, I’d like them to be thinking clearly without obstructed judgment. You wouldn’t want to in battle drunk, so why would you want to be high? One wrong call over the radio can have mortars dropped on your location killing your whole platoon. I could not call the mother of a man whose life my mistake has taken, and say it happened because I was ripped on some spice.

Marines are often put in situations where they have to react immediately, and without hesitation. Those reactions need to be hasty, and effective. It is these reactions that mean life, or death.

The Military, and the Marines, more specifically are supposed to be Americas role models. Not America’s deviant sons. What kind of a message does it send to America, but also the rest of the world if U.S Marines are high? A bunch of dope smokers are not intimidating, and do not convey the message that they mean business.

In the end, I think that spice has no place in the military, much less my Marine Corps. It doesn’t go along with the upstanding reputation the Corps, and we know for a fact, that Chesty Puller wouldn’t stand for malarkey like that. The real way to look at it is, what good can come from Marines being allowed to smoke synthetic marijuana? I see none.