Introduction
I’m really glad my NROTC recruiter did a good job informing us of illegal substance use in the military, and that despite some state legalization of cannabis products, it’s still illegal for federal employees and military to use. Understanding how the drug testing system works will help put your mind at ease and help you understand how to navigate avoiding illegal drugs and risk getting kicked out of the program.
So Does ROTC and NROTC Drug Test?
All ROTC branches of the military randomly drug test cadets and midshipman via urinalysis every semester. Drug tests identify illegal substance use per Department of Defense standards including prescription medicine. If prescribed a drug that could show on a urinalysis, you must inform your command
Illegal Substances List
The following is a list of the basic ones they test for. Some prescription drugs are on this list and you must inform your command if you need to take these for a medical reason. For Marijuana specifically, I don’t think there is a medical exemption for Marijuana that I know of but you can get more of this information from your command directly. I do not recommend using online sources to make a decision on whether or not you decide to use any of these even if they are legal in some states.
- Marijuana.
- Spice.
- Amphetamines.
- Anabolic Steroids.
- Synthetic Cannabinoids.
- Other mood-altering substances.
You can find the long list of banned drugs in the military in Article 112a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. But in short: don’t do cocaine, heroin, weed, cannabis or any illegal drug. Cannabis products are still banned from the military and a urinalysis will cause you to pop positive on a test if this is in your system.
If you accidentally ingest a weed brownie or something you genuinely didn’t know contained marijuana, inform your command immediately. It looks better on you to inform your command as soon as you think you ingested it than to wait and hope it doesn’t show on a drug test. Not telling your command puts your character into question and whether or not it was an accident.
How Drug Testing Works in ROTC (and NROTC)
When I was at my unit, everyone got tested randomly throughout the entire semester. The only days you could know for sure if there was a test was the day we got back from Christmas break and the first day of school back after summer break.
Getting tested only takes a few minutes if you have to urinate. Often times, people had to hang around the unit for an hour or two downing water until they were finally able to go. You only have to pee enough to fill a really small bottle the size of a prescription bottle for it to count.
When you’re ready, you have an active duty observer watch you urinate into the bottle and then carry it over your head back to the testing classroom. From there, you sign your name and that’s the end of it. It’s usually a painless process that doesn’t take much time out of your day.
Sometimes your name will keep showing up on the list for no reason. I got randomly tested four times in one semester which was annoying but that’s not always the case.
Most units will do drug testing during or after a ROTC event so they don’t have to call someone in during their class schedule to knock these out. Sometimes you might have to come in between lunch to do so.
How Often to Do People Test Positive on Drug Tests?
Unfortunately, I knew quite a few people who tested positive for illegal substances during a urinalysis when I was in NROTC. One person I knew popped positive three days before he was supposed to commission as an officer.
Another one admitted to smoking marijuana while in the NROTC program during his final commissioning interview and got dropped for that even before they drug tested him.
I never heard of anyone accidentally consuming an illegal drug. Your command will do a good job briefing you about illegal substance use including cannabis products despite them being legal in some states. You can still hang around people who smoke second hand marijuana and not test positive. From what I’ve been told, you only test positive on your urinalysis if you ingest an illegal drug.
Conclusion
In short, it’s not hard to avoid illegal drugs even in college. If you have the of being accepted into an NROTC or ROTC program, it’s not worth throwing away the opportunity to be an officer in the military to party with with other college kids who make poor choices. It’s a common thing you’ll always be told by your command, but it really is true, and it’s not worth losing a scholarship over.
Thanks for reading. If you have any further questions or comments, feel free to reach out theyouculture@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to respond. If not, be sure to check back regularly for new articles.