Pubdate: Sat, 03 Jan 2015
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2015 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Tom Roeder, The Gazette

FEWER GIS TEST POSITIVE FOR POT NOW THAT IT'S LEGAL

Colorado Springs - Fewer soldiers are testing positive for marijuana 
in two states where recreational use of the drug is legal, an Army 
study of the issue obtained by The Gazette has found.

The change in Washington and Colorado, where legal pot is available 
near large Army bases, is small. But it's the reverse of what 
military leaders said would happen in Colorado Springs with marijuana 
legalization.

"With one minor exception, the data is trending downward, though it 
remains relatively flat and the changes are statistically 
insignificant," Lt. Col. Justin Platt, an Army spokesman, wrote in an 
e-mail from the Pentagon.

In Colorado, the rate of positive drug tests for marijuana dropped to 
0.47 percent in the fiscal year that ended Oct. 1. That is down from 
0.79 percent in the same period two years earlier, before 
recreational marijuana sales were legal. The number of positive 
marijuana tests at Fort Carson dropped to 422 from 725 over that span.

Army brass said the drop is more of a sign of how the Army is 
handling legalization than soldiers being suddenly less likely to 
smoke marijuana.

"That's a sign of good leadership," said Army Gen. Chuck Jacoby, the 
top-ranking soldier in the Pikes Peak region who stepped down as 
commander of U.S. Northern Command on Dec. 15.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom