Culture, Legal, Veteran's Affairs
NDAA Amendment Would Let Soldiers Use CBD
Jul
BY
A new amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act could allow members of the Armed Forces to use CBD and other derivatives from Cannabis sativa hemp.
On Monday, the House of Representatives voted 336 to 71 to approve a package of multiple amendments to the House version of the NDAA, including a measure sponsored by Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, which would allow military members to consume hemp products.
“The Secretary of Defense may not prohibit, on the basis of a product containing hemp or any ingredient derived from hemp, the possession, use, or consumption of such product by a member of the Armed Forces,” the amendment reads.
The amendment comes in response to Department of Defense policy banning the use of hemp products by active duty and reserve members of the military.
Citing “a serious risk to the viability of the military drug testing program,” the February memo signed by Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Matthew P. Donovan directs all military departments to issue punitive general orders prohibiting the use of CBD and other products derived from hemp, regardless of their legality under the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018.
Hemp varieties of the Cannabis sativa plant legalized by the 2018 legislation contain high concentrations of cannabidiol and low concentrations of the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in marijuana, with an upper limit of a 0.3 percent THC concentration established for legal hemp products.
Read more from the source: NewsWeek.com
