What Federal Legalization Could Mean for Active Duty and Veterans Alike

What would “full federal legalization” of cannabis mean for the U.S. military? In short: less friction at the gate, but no automatic green light in uniform. Even if Congress legalized marijuana nationally, the Department of Defense (DoD) would still set standards for conduct and fitness. Today, Article 112a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) criminalizes wrongful use, possession, or distribution of controlled substances—applied to marijuana regardless of state law. If marijuana were removed from federal prohibition, Congress and the Pentagon could still bar use by service members through statute, regulation, or punitive general orders.

Drug testing and readiness would remain central. Military programs test for cannabinoids using established cutoffs (for example, a 50 ng/mL initial screen in DoD panels), and positives can trigger administrative or disciplinary action. Federal workplace rules reflect similar thresholds, underscoring how detection standards are codified. Legalization would not convert a positive into a pass; only revised DoD instructions could do that. At the margins, accession policy may keep softening toward past use. The Department of the Air Force’s THC retest pilot for applicants signaled a willingness to distinguish prior legal use from disqualifying conduct.

Hemp and CBD would still be tricky. Despite the 2018 Farm Bill’s hemp carve-out, DoD has long barred service members from using hemp-derived products—including CBD and delta-8—because of mislabeling and contamination risks that could trigger a positive THC result. The policy is explicit: products “containing or derived from hemp” are prohibited for troops, with limited exceptions for durable goods like rope or clothing; the Navy reiterated this stance as recently as 2025. Full legalization would not automatically reverse these bans; DoD would need to rescind or narrow them and define quality-control requirements before troops could safely use such products.

Installations and deployments add another layer. Military bases are federal property, and commanders set local rules; possession could remain barred on base even if it is legal outside the gate. Overseas, Status of Forces Agreements and host-nation law would continue to govern service-member conduct—so legalization at home would not protect a sailor in Japan or a soldier in Qatar. Practically, legalization would reduce off-duty legal risk in many jurisdictions but would not erase the military’s unique jurisdiction and duty requirements, including random urinalysis and zero-impairment expectations while on duty.

Veterans’ access is where change could be fastest. VA clinicians may currently discuss cannabis use with patients but cannot prescribe or pay for it while federal prohibition remains. In 2025, the House advanced measures to allow VA doctors to recommend cannabis in states where it is legal—a step toward normalizing care pathways. With full federal legalization, Congress could authorize nationwide recommendations and direct the VA to build clinical guardrails and data collection. FDA approval would still control marketing and dosing claims, but legalization would remove the statutory barrier that currently prevents VA clinicians from recommending or the VA from reimbursing.

Recruiting versus readiness would define implementation. Legalization could broaden the recruiting pool by normalizing pre-service use and formalizing waiver pathways—reflected in recent House votes to expand THC waivers for recruits—while DoD maintains a bright line against in-service use and impairment on duty, similar to alcohol rules. Expect debates over waiting periods between last use and accession, targeted rather than blanket testing, and stricter restrictions for aviation, nuclear, and security billets. In short, full legalization would align civilian and federal law and ease veteran access, but active-duty use would likely remain prohibited unless Congress amends the UCMJ and DoD deliberately rewrites its readiness framework.