Barksdale cracks down on Spice use

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Allison M. Boehm
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  The dangers of a relatively new drug that quickly gained popularity has urged state legislatures, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the military to take action to make it illegal.

Spice, a synthetic marijuana, is a mixture of herbs with hallucinogenic effects similar to marijuana. The quantity and toxicity of the herbs varies in each product, making some more potent than others. It's typically consumed by smoking, creating a euphoric feeling comparable to cannabis.

The Air Force has caught numerous Airmen smoking Spice during the past year and explicitly banned it in June. Barksdale, home of Air Force Global Strike Command, is doing their part to ensure good conduct among the servicemembers here.

"The Air Force has been crystal clear that those who use Spice--a substance now illegal both at the Federal and State level--will be held accountable," said Col. Tim Fay, 2nd Bomb Wing commander. "Pursuant to Air Force policy, the illegal or improper use of any drug is incompatible with military service and automatically places the member's continued service in jeopardy."

Numerous official videos about Spice are also popping up on Facebook, iTunes and YouTube.

The official message conveys an urgent health risk and warns troops that smoking the chemical-soaked herbal blend is punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice as a wrongful use of any intoxicating substance not intended for human ingestion.

The chemicals are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for human consumption, the DEA said in its federal notice. Doctors reported a surge in patients sickened by use of Spice, commonly having a rapid heart rate, dangerously high blood pressure and sometimes hallucinations or paranoia.

"In June, the Air Force specifically banned the substance by revising AFI 44-121, making Spice use a violation of Article 92, UCMJ, for failure to obey a lawful regulation. Even more recently, the DEA has designated Spice and other synthetic marijuana drugs as Schedule I substances. This makes any use, possession, or distribution of the drug after the effective date of 24 December 2010 a violation of federal law and chargeable under Article 112a exactly as most other drug offenses are charged in the military," said Capt. Wells Littlefield, Chief of Military Justice for the 2nd Bomb Wing. "Despite these developments, the military has always prosecuted the use of any drug that is mood or mind altering, including Spice, under Article 134 if it could not specifically charge it under Article 112a."

The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology staff is also in the process of developing a urine/blood test for Spice. When caught, the punishment can be as serious as a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, confinement and a reduction to the lowest enlisted rank. In addition, if any military member is caught for drug use, a mandatory discharge process is initiated.

According to Special Agent Robert Keys, Superintendant, AFOSI Detachment 210, law enforcement has several different technologies to determine who is purchasing Spice and where it is being bought and received. Jointly, OSI and the 2nd Security Forces Squadron are working together to terminate this behavior.

With so much at jeopardy, Colonel Fay asks Barksdale Airmen to not allow any drug to affect the operational readiness of the 2nd Bomb Wing. "Your Nation and your Air Force need each one of you--please do not put your future at risk for this."