Voters in California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada recently approved recreational marijuana in their states, joining three other states and the District of Columbia in allowing residents and visitors to use the drug for non-medical purposes.
The goods news if you're into that kind of thing: military spouses stationed near over 40 bases across those states now have the ability to legally smoke weed. As with most other state laws, military spouses are governed like any other civilian. That means if civilians can light up a joint, so can military spouses who are in that state.
The bad news? You still have to be careful.
That's because the rules are different on military bases -- and for service members. Marijuana continues to be an illegal controlled substance on all federal property, including military bases. Troops -- including Guard and Reservists -- are not permitted to light up under any circumstance. And the ban goes even farther than that: troops aren't even permitted to attend cannabis-related events and festivals. Veterans also do not have access to medical marijuana through the VA, in large part because of the federal prohibition.
So what does that mean for military spouses? Toke with care.
If you plan to participate in a marijuana related activity, including smoking, edibles, medical marijuana or festivals, make sure your service member is not involved in any way. And if you live on base, make sure you do not any marijuana in your home. And if you're visiting base, keep it out of your vehicle.
