How cannabis was used in times of war

The United States Armed Forces and cannabis have had a controversial relationship since the two met more than a century ago. Still, despite the current zero-tolerance rules within the military, some steps are being taken to make cannabis medicinally accessible to those who have previously served.

While the military is intolerant of weed, cannabis has appeared through the cracks more than once in times of conflict. From medicinal uses for horses and soldiers to reports of nearly half the armed forces in Vietnam getting high, weed has found its way into wartime more than once.

The earliest links to the US military and cannabis can be found in the published Army Horse Handbook entitled The Army Horse in Accident and Disease.” In fact, there was a time when the US military openly supported the use of cannabis as a medicine for horses. the Manual pointed out that cannabis indica could be used as a medicine to help with abdominal problems in horses “since it relieves pain without causing constipation”.

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Horses weren’t the only beneficiaries of cannabis in the early 1900s. Accordingly National Botany, “Prior to the 1920s, medics from the American Expeditionary Force brought medicinal cannabis to Europe to treat troops overseas.” In these circumstances, cannabis was used to relieve headaches, convulsions, and insomnia. This was a short-lived situation as cannabis was soon maligned in the US and eventually became fully illegal at the federal level in 1937.

Except for some tests on soldiers who used marijuana Panama in 1931, the relationship between the US military and marijuana seemed to diminish completely with the prohibition of marijuana in America. However, this changed during the Vietnam War.

During the Vietnam War, just over 50% of the armed forces smoked marijuana. Interestingly, despite federal anti-marijuana laws, this cannabis use was initially tolerated or at least ignored by supervisors.

“That changed when John Steinbeck IV, a Vietnamese soldier and son of the Nobel Prize-winning author, wrote an article for Washingtonians Magazine in January 1968 about the sharing of marijuana among the troops, which sparked a media firestorm,” according to the History Network.

Since that media firestorm in Vietnam and the subsequent demonization of cannabis in the 1970s and 1980s with the War on Drugs, zero tolerance for marijuana in the military has been stronger than ever.

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There doesn’t appear to be any major internal changes to U.S. military drug policy any time soon, even as the legalization of recreational marijuana in the civilian world is on the rise. However, there is currently optimistic legislation that could grant veterans the benefits of medical marijuana.

RELATED: Military veterans can use medical marijuana without losing entitlement to care and services

The Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act, introduced to the House of Representatives last April, would “allow veterans to use, possess or transport medical marijuana and to discuss medical marijuana use with a Department of Veterans Affairs physician.” to the the invoice.

The VMMSHA may seem like a very small step compared to the speed at which legalization is happening outside of the military. However, if you look at it historically, it could be the birth of a relationship between marijuana and the military that can finally have a positive outcome and an optimistic future if you establish marijuana as a potential treatment for those who have served honorably.