The military and marijuana have had a long history – now members of the GOP are trying to help the services with a change From Vietnam to PTSD, marijuana has been part of the armed services. Traditionalists have waged war on the green plant, but now there is unexpected cannabis help for the military. As recruitment numbers continue to shrink, a wave of Republican lawmakers are championing bold reforms to modernize military enlistment—starting with cannabis policy. Their aim? Make the armed forces more accessible to young Americans who’ve legally used marijuana in their daily lives.

At the center of this push is Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who introduced an amendment to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would ban marijuana testing for enlistment or officer commissioning. Gaetz argues prior cannabis use should not exclude willing Americans from serving their country, especially amid a recruitment and retention crisis. Nearly 33% more recruits tested positive for marijuana in 2022 compared to 2020. Gaetz has long been one of Congress’s most vocal supporters of cannabis reform, frequently backing measures to decriminalize or normalize its use on both state and federal levels.

Photo by skeeze via PixabayThis isn’t Gaetz’s only effort: other GOP lawmakers are pushing parallel reforms. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) proposed allowing service members to use federally legal CBD products, while the Congressional Cannabis Caucus—co-chaired by R and D members—has introduced amendments to empower VA doctors to advise medical cannabis treatment for veterans in legal states. Meanwhile, the House Armed Services Committee, led by Republicans, advanced a medical cannabis “pilot program” amendment authored by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas). This program would allow the Department of Defense to study cannabis’s health effects on veterans with PTSD, depression, and pain—alongside psychedelics research like MDMA and psilocybin trials. Why now? With medical marijuana legal in 38 states and recreational use legal in 24, many potential recruits are being filtered out by outdated drug policies—despite evidence those granted waivers perform on par with other soldiers. On Reddit, the sentiment is candid: “This proposed change would eliminate marijuana testing at time of enlistment/commissioning. Seems like a reasonable change to help recruiting.”For millennials who’ve grown up in a patchwork of legalization, these reforms feel sensible, overdue, and inclusive—a recalibration of military policy to reflect modern societal norms. Still, it’s worth noting: none of these proposals are yet law. While some reforms have advanced in committee, they haven’t all made it to the House floor, let alone passed both chambers. In sum, a growing cohort of GOP lawmakers is signaling prior use of cannabis should not disqualify military service, flipping the script on recruitment rules and embracing a more inclusive future.

The Fresh Toast is a daily lifestyle platform with a side of cannabis. For more information, visit www.thefreshtoast.com.

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