Previous drug use question 2002 - 2018 [Merged]

[Infandone]

If being honest about this means I don’t get in, or that I have to wait another 6 months and reapply because there are never any exceptions, then military policy designed to weed out undesirables may also be preventing their best candidates from having a go at it.

How is being told to reapply in 6 months preventing you from having a go at it?

 

[Michael OLeary]

I have no problem being honest with having experimented with hard drugs in the past, which ended about 7 years ago. I also have no problem being honest about recreationally smoking pot on and off since then. And I HAVE smoked marijuana in the past 6 months. If being honest about this means I don’t get in, or that I have to wait another 6 months and reapply because there are never any exceptions, then military policy designed to weed out undesirables may also be preventing their best candidates from having a go at it.

So, you admit to your illegal behaviour and use of drugs, but for some reason you think you're such a special case the military should set aside its recruitment policies just for you?  You're going to have to try harder to convince me.

Try wrapping your head around the fact that it's the USE OF DRUGS that potentially makes you an undesireable candidate (even if only for the short term until you've been clean the required period).  It's not mitigated by how wonderful a person you assess yourself to be.

 

[logairoff]

I think the drug issue has a lot to do with the personality and the person and not just the actual drug. I've always thought that being in the military you were expected to conform and do things that you don't necessarily agree with. See I think that the type of person who has trouble conforming with society and the rules/laws that society has is very likely to clash with the organizational structure and the military way of doing things. This may make you an unsuitable candidate.

I don't know I could be wrong but I don't think the military wants you to be challenging orders and doing things your own way because you feel like they're wrong and you're right. If you want to challenge the status quo the military is just not the place to do it.

I know this may be reading a lot into an occasional drug use but its the law. What makes this any different than breaking any other law. If you can't follow the rules and the laws in place in society then you will probably have a hard time following the ones the military has in place.

Anyways I've heard the arguments you presented from my friends and the way people try to justify drug use. The best advice I can give you is to be honest discuss it and if you feel it was a mistake then say it was a mistake and you've moved on. Trying to justify it is something that a lot of people won't buy. The thought that pot is harmless and is no worse than smoking is not shared by society eventhough science may prove otherwise.

 

[vector1]

Ok

Well I went through the whole recruiting proccess, and I lied on my entrance about drug use when I was a teen,im going into a int related trade, I know about the csis interview, to get into my trade,I don't know why I lied,just panic I guess,I just want to set my record straight on not get released because of it

What can I do?

 

[the_girlfirend]

I guess you can correct the situation by telling the truth

I remember going over the drug sheet again at my interview at the CFRC...

Also you probably can contact your CFRC at any time to correct your mistake.

Good luck

 

[Franko]

Own up and hope for the best...because when they do find out, and they will, yer done.

Regards

 

[George Wallace]

Ok

Well I went through the whole recruiting proccess, and I lied on my entrance about drug use when I was a teen, im going into a int related trade, ..........

The advice give by others above, is the best you are going to get.

If you are going int an INT related Trade, then your moral and ethical character has to be fairly clean cut and honesty a cornerstone of your job.  If you have failed in any of them, then you will likely not be in the job.

 

[RetiredRoyal]

think i read this in another thread a while ago...guy came clean, his drug use was too recent..they closed his file and told him to come back in six months.

when i admitted to drug use between the time i got out and back in again, the capt looked at it, turned the sheet upside down and continued the interview.

They aren't looking for perfect people, they are looking for people with integrity. We all do stupid things, like that time with the CO's daughter...live and learn, be honest.

 

[George Wallace]

Updated to include/merge several threads so those who may ask, may perhaps find their answers here, should they have the patience to actually read.

 

[jmlz87]

Just to add my 2 bits here,

I was counselled out for NPD use in 2005. I was told to come back in 6 months completely clean of any NPD use. The MCCs want to see you are serious about this decesion you are making and how dedicated and loyal you are, to serve in the Canadian Forces.

I ended up VW'ing my file, then reapplying in 2007. Now I'm in and working at said CFRC.

Best advice, reiterated by George Wallace and Der Panzerkommandant....
Own up and be entirely truthful. Disclose all your use as lying will get you nowhere.

 

[boboyer]

I started to read the first page and noticed that it was from 2002, so I skipped to a few from the last page.
From what I can gather, just be honest on it, or you wont get in. Or you may get in, and they will find out later, and that could be a million times worse.
As for me, did I smoke a little pot back in grade nine and ten? Yes, but I stopped and moved on with my life, played competitive Rep hockey and never really thought back on my previous pot use.
When I go in for my my interview and medical, I will have no problem telling then about what I did in the past. The past is the past, and what I'm focused on now is my future career in the forces, and if it means telling the truth about something years ago, then so be it.

 

[consumed343]

Got a question hopefully some of you can answer.  I originally did my application process in 07, went to basic in 08, VR'd (dumb reason)
and now I'm reapplying (after my 6 month wait, ended last month).  When I went back in to re-apply, I was given the drug sheet again with all known substances to mankind.  Since I don't drink, or rather have not touch any alcohol in well over 1.5years (alcohol being beer, I never touched the hard liquor), and my pot exposure has been just that, exposure from other people smoking, I left the sheet blank. 

My question though, on the original drug sheet that I filled out in 07, I may have written down beer occasionally, and I can't remember if talking with the recruiter they wanted me to write down the times I was exposed or to leave it blank since I've never smoked it myself.  Should I go back into the recruitment center and ask to look at my old sheet, and if so what would be the right way to ask? I don't want to look like an idiot, or come across as a liar, but I would like my current sheet reflect my original, something I should have asked to see in the first place.  Thanks.

 

[GAP]

This is kinda like everybody wanting Mulrooney at his inquiry wanting him clear his soul (oh and sing kumbuyyah.....)

If you didn't take it/use it say so.....period!!

 

[bran]

It's a drug/alcohol use sheet. If you didn't use it then say no, they don't need to hear about anything else.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

FML

 

[Baloo]

But in vietnam... they smoked marijuana. Which helped the soldiers a lot! and because of them smoking there were less post traumatic stress incidences. But now there are more like it has shot up a good 80% I am not saying that the soldiers nowadays are pussies. But I do think marijuana does help out with post traumatic stress. My opinion. also is there division in the aptitude test? because that is useless to a soldier.

This was one of the most fascinating things that I have ever had the privilege of reading while on this site.

 

[combat_medic]

But in vietnam... they smoked marijuana. Which helped the soldiers a lot! and because of them smoking there were less post traumatic stress incidences. But now there are more like it has shot up a good 80% I am not saying that the soldiers nowadays are pussies. But I do think marijuana does help out with post traumatic stress. My opinion. also is there division in the aptitude test? because that is useless to a soldier.

You might want to quote your source on that one.

Actually, according to most experts (start off with On Combat by LCol Dave Grossman) they show pretty definitively that marijuana use amongst American soldiers in Vietnam significantly INCREASED incidents of post traumatic stress. The reasoning is that the soldiers never developed appropriate coping mechanisms to deal with the stress, and were reliant on drugs. When the drugs were gone, they were left with nothing to deal with the stress.

Also, if you think division is useless to a soldier, tell that to people calculating indiect fire, calculating amounts of explosives, calculating magnetic declination, or any other of the advanced mathematics that are useful to any number of soldiers in the military.

 

[mariomike]

When the drugs were gone, they were left with nothing to deal with the stress.

"you can't drown your troubles, not the real ones, because if they are real they can swim."
Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War

 

[British Army]

If I may be allowed to play devil's advocate for a moment......

As someone who's spent the majority of their life in the forces and has never even smoked a cigarette let alone taken any drugs, my heart sinks when I read threads like this - I sit back and say to myself, 'is this what the world has come to?' My systemic reaction always takes me to the same conclusion - if you chose/choose (nobody forces you) to take drugs then you've no place next to me!

But then I wait a minute, calm down and reflect on what has been said previously, the forces are a reflection of society so we must either take or leave what society has to offer. As nice as it may be to hold the moral high ground, if we decide to strictly adhere to the zero tolerance ideology then what will we be left with, simple, an ever decreasing force in an era where we actually need to expand - do the math, it doesn't work.

So what do we do to shift the balance in our favour.......we stand there with a big stick, because prevention is always better than cure.  Humans are a complicated breed, even the steadfast can succumb to temptation even though conventional wisdom and logic says otherwise - surely reading this thread is evidence enough of that.

So what's the big stick in our scenario..........in my opinion, it's regular compulsory drug testing. Not just when you're off on tour but routine enough for the tempted to think, 'it's not worth it, I'll be tested again in a couple of weeks.' Sure, no doubt it won't stop the weaker willed individuals but it may be enough to stop the majority from taking that odd toke when it's passed round at the weekend party.

Does this take on things mean that I've abandoned my principles or condone the use of drugs.....in a word, no! What it does mean is that the military is an evolving machine and we (serving members) must be capable of evolving with it. Principles and ideology should never be abandoned but they must be tempered with reality. People will always be susceptible to drugs; it's how we approach the issue and the preventative measures which we put in place to mitigate the problem which is what really counts.

Anyway, that's my :2c: for what it's worth.........

 

[Michael OLeary]

PRB 07-51E
Drug Testing in the Workplace
http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/prb0751-e.htm#dcanadian

D.  The Canadian Forces

Pursuant to the National Defence Drug Testing Policy announced in 1990, regulations respecting the Canadian Forces Drug Control Program were approved on 21 May 1992 by the Governor in Council as Chapter 20 of the Queen’s Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Forces.  Under this program, mandatory drug testing with random elements would be introduced, primarily for all military personnel in safety-sensitive positions.  The program would apply only to uniformed personnel and not to the civilian staff of the Department of National Defence; however, given that all uniformed positions are considered to be safety-sensitive, the military drug-testing policy was considered to be fairly inclusive.  Most military drug testing would be done through the random selection of units comprising 5 to 500 individuals.  Testing would also take place for cause, for those who were undergoing rehabilitation for drug use, for post-accident investigations and for certain “super-sensitive” positions that were not covered by the random testing of military units.  All testing would be conducted by means of urinalysis and any positive drug screen would be subject to a confirmatory analysis.  Failure to comply with a request to submit to a drug test could result in disciplinary action.

In February 1995, the Chief of the Defence Staff informed the Privacy Commissioner in writing that the portion of the drug testing policy relating to random selection had been suspended; however, he still reserved the right to reopen the issue in the future should circumstances dictate its necessity.  This letter was in response to the Commissioner’s 1994 opposition to the widespread use of random testing of Canadian Forces members for the presence of illegal drugs, even though the Department of National Defence’s own statistics had revealed that its members rarely used such substances.  Indeed, the department’s own survey had revealed that the intoxicant most widely used by its employees was alcohol, which was not covered by the Forces’ policy.

In 2006, the Canadian Forces instituted mandatory drug testing for soldiers to be deployed in Afghanistan.  As reported on CBC News in September 2007, 250 soldiers were prevented from being deployed to Afghanistan during the past year because they tested positive for drug use.  The military told CBC News that it had tested about 6,800 soldiers since mandatory drug testing of troops headed for Afghanistan began in September 2006.  CBC News obtained the results of tests done between September 2006 and May 2007 through the Access to Information Act,(42) and the military then provided numbers from May until September.  Test results showed that most soldiers who failed had tested positive for marijuana.  It was also reported that there were plans to expand the drug testing program to include blind testing, which would encompass the entire Canadian Forces, not just soldiers slated for duty in Afghanistan.