{"id":17765,"date":"2019-07-18T22:11:41","date_gmt":"2019-07-18T22:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/07\/18\/top-marine-says-most-marine-recruits-require-a-drug-waiver-but-does-the-marine-corps-have-a-drug-problem\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:39:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:39:54","slug":"top-marine-says-most-marine-recruits-require-a-drug-waiver-but-does-the-marine-corps-have-a-drug-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2019\/07\/18\/top-marine-says-most-marine-recruits-require-a-drug-waiver-but-does-the-marine-corps-have-a-drug-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Marine says most Marine recruits require a drug waiver. But does the Marine Corps have a drug problem?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger said that \u201cthe vast majority of recruits require drug waivers for enlistment\u201d in his planning guidance<\/a>, which was posted late Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The top Marine also said he was \u201cdeeply troubled\u201d by the number of Marines who have not been booted from the Corps despite failing a drug test. Berger noted that out of the 2,410 Marines since fiscal year 2018 that have failed a drug test only 1,175 have been separated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So is the Corps facing a major drug crisis? The data says the issue is a little more convoluted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of positive drug tests<\/a> among Marines has dropped from 4,776 in fiscal year 2009 to just 1,216 in fiscal 2019. The drug test figures \u2014 obtained by Marine Corps Times on July 15 through a government records request \u2014 show a general downward trend in positive drug tests over the past decade. The reason for the drop is unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\t