K2 “Spice” in the Military

Nothing makes a community more proud of you than serving your country. Be it home or abroad, serving your country is a great honor. Needless to say, it’s a non-stop roller-coaster of a journey from the first day to the last. The only thing that remains constant is change, but working with unpredictability mixed in a little uncertainly with a dash of the unknown is a recipe for high stress and anxiety. Sometimes the anxiety can get to you as you hurry up and wait for your next set of orders. Maybe the stress of your current Duty is getting to you and need to blow off a little steam. Some Soldiers take up smoking to help relax. Alcohol in the military has been around since the beginning, but what about the other stuff that doesn’t come in a bottle? Drug testing pretty much eliminates the possibility of smoking marijuana, but what about K2 “Spice”.

In the first quarter of 2011, the U.S. Army set rules for the drug K2 Spice: “In regards to Spice and other similar synthetic marijuana products, Soldiers from all components of the Army are prohibited from using, possessing, manufacturing, selling, distributing, importing into or exporting from the United States,  or introducing into any installation, vessel, vehicle, or aircraft used by or under the control of the Army.” In a joint agreement between the Army and Air Force, the Army was allowed to use the Air Force’s high-tech laboratory equipment to test the Army’s urine sample for synthetic drugs. During that same time period, The U.S. Naval Academy expelled 5 midshipmen as part of an ongoing investigation into the use of “Spice”.

Since then, the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force have set up their mandatory urine drug testing to include Spice, enforcing their zero tolerance on the use of synthetic cannabinoids. With all the branches of Military combined together after installing this policy, there has been more than 1,500 personnel dismissed from service in the last couple of years. The good news is that use of ALL Synthetic Cannabinoids is currently banned in all branches of the U.S. Military. Basically, the question that all Military personnel has to ask themselves, which is more important: feeling high from K2 “Spice” for about 20 minutes or being able to retire fully benefits after 20 years of service?

Thankfully in July 2012, President Obama made all Synthetic Drugs illegal all across the U.S. The law bans harmful chemicals in synthetic drugs such as those used to make synthetic marijuana and “bath salts”, even making it illegal for shops and retail places to make it available to consumers. While more than 30 states have banned various compounds in synthetic drugs, new ones are continually being created. The law also expedites the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of new drugs and medical devices.

K2 “Spice” isn’t worth the risk of losing it all, especially if you worked hard to get the rank you’re at currently. If you have people under your command and suspect at least one of them is under the influence of K2 or you have a reason to believe they may have recently smoked it, don’t skip the opportunity to have them tested immediately. We can recommend using the Rapid Detect K2 Drug Test. It’s a simple, easy to use test you dip into the urine sample and will display your results in minutes. If you want to test for more than just K2, we can suggest using the Rapid Detect Drug Test Cup 10 panel that will test not only K2 but also Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Marijuana, Amphetamine, Opiates and more. If you have any questions or need more information about any of our K2 “Spice” tests, please feel free to call to speak with one of our friendly knowledgeable sales consultants toll-free at (888) 404-0020 Monday to Friday 8 am to 4 pm CST or send us an email.