To armyman31, based on your profile, and assuming it is accurate, I don't think passing the MEPS urinalysis will be a problem at all for you.

My concern is this; and I am not singling you out, but rather addressing anyone considering entering any branch of the military (full disclosure, I spent many years in the Navy, honorable discharge)... are you really sure you want to enlist?

Nevermind, given present day real world events, the very real possibility of being sent into a hostile environment where your life and limb is at risk every day. I am talking about the fact that military personnel must conduct their personal lives to a much higher standard than civilians.

Simply put, you must forego your use of cannabis (and any illegal drugs) for as long as you wear the uniform. Nevermind that there is a zero tolerance policy that will all but ruin your life if you get caught using illegal drugs while a member of the armed services. Rather, I am talking about an honor code, an oath that you take and that you must live by.

Random urinalysis is conducted all the time in the military, users will get caught eventually if not immediately. I saw it happen time and again and I saw good people discharged (with less than honorable discharges that negatively impacted their civilian lives) for a making a single stupid mistake that they should have known better not to have made.

I am not against cannabis use (would I be on this board otherwise?) and I think our laws about it are unjust. But for all the years I was in, I never once indulged even though I might have wanted to, especially when opportunity presented itself.

Being in the military is not just another job. As your employer, your branch of military does have the right to know almost everything about your private life. How can it be otherwise, when the lives of your fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines may very well depend on you?

Military life is not for everyone and I don't think less of anyone who has done their homework and has come to the conclusion that enlisting is not right for them.

If you're thinking of enlisting, do your homework, talk to current active duty and reserve personnel (not including recruiters), make sure you are enlisting for the right reasons and be fully prepared to live responsibly by all military rules, codes and ethics.

I apologize for this scribe being so long, and didactic too, but that is the way I feel.

Good luck, and good day.