The Army’s View of Delta 8 THC – Army Regulation 600-85 Army Substance Abuse Program

On October 4th the Army issued updates to Army Regulation 600-85, The Army Substance Abuse Program. Among other things, this regulation prescribes which substances are forbidden to be ingested by members of the United States Army, to include the Army National Guard. The regulation also prescribes procedures for conducting drug testing and Commander’s responsibilities for training and executing the substance abuse program.

One of the most significant changes in the recent update to AR 600-85, relates to Tetrahydrocannabinol Delta 8. Known as “Delta 8” this substance is a THC cannabis concentrate and is currently legal in Texas. Delta 8 is commonly found in convenience stores throughout Texas. However, the latest version of AR 600-85 bans Soldiers from ingesting Delta 8 by any means and adds this substance to the panel of substances tested for in Department of the Army urinalysis tests. As a practical matter, this means that Soldiers with a positive urinalysis sample for THC can no longer claim the positive result is from a legal form of THC.

The updated regulation also warns Soldiers to “make every effort to avoid” all food products with poppy seeds since newer seeds “may contain elevated levels of codeine” which could cause red flags during drug tests. Here again, the new regulations will make it more difficult for Soldiers to claim a poppy seed bagel caused the positive urinalysis, not an illegal substance containing opiates.

Among the other changes to the regulation, substance abuse prevention and deterrence training is now required. In addition, Unit Prevention Leaders are now called Unit Deterrence Leaders.

The current version of AR 600-85 retains the requirement that National Guard Company / Troop Commanders test 10 percent of their Soldiers each month with each Soldier tested at least once per year.

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