Maj. Gen. Carl Jensen, commanding general of Marine Corps Installations East, recently directed all MCI East commanders to declare any local establishments selling prohibited substances to Marines off limits. The substances, known by many different names including Spice and K2, are legal in South Carolina but prohibited by the Marine Corps.
According to the Marine Forces Command Order 5355.1, Marines are barred from possessing, purchasing, using, selling, distributing, introducing onto a military installation and manufacturing substances that, when ingested and/or inhaled, are capable of inducing intoxication, excitement, stupefaction of the central nervous system, or a psychologically altered state.
The directive affords commanders another tool to preserve good order and discipline and ensure Marines are mission ready.
“As elite warriors, Marines must be prepared to fight and win battles at any time,” Jensen said. “The substances that were banned can have effects similar to those associated with illegal drugs, and use of these psychotropic substances can alter a Marine’s ability to perform his mission, and could put him or his fellow Marines at risk.”
Aside from the concerns for mission readiness raised by Marine Corps leadership, substance abuse prevention specialists provide information about the products that should keep Marines from using Spice.
“The plants that make up Spice are not dangerous but the chemicals they are treated with are,” said Gayle Wierzbicki, drug demand reduction coordinator for Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, the Air Station and the Eastern Recruiting Region. “The reports we have seen from scientific research is that the drug produces many of the same effects as marijuana with many of the same medical effects.”
Symptoms such as hallucinations, severe agitation, elevated heart rate, elevated blood pressure, tremors and seizures are just a few medical issues regarding Spice use mentioned on the website www.k2drugfacts.com.
“We have also seen reports of fatalities from poisoning involving strychnine, a hallucination inducing poison similar to acid, which is one of the chemicals sometimes sprayed on the plants, but in truth, no one really knows all of the health risks Spice could present because no one knows what it could have been sprayed or laced with,” Wierzbicki said regarding the drug’s purity.
According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, there were 567 cases reported in 41 states in which people had suffered adverse reactions to Spice during the first half of 2010.
“Spice produces lethargy and other effects that inhibit the ability of individuals to do the complex tasks that many Marines are expected to do,” Wierzbicki said.
The complex jobs Marines perform aboard the Air Station require them to remain unimpaired to ensure no Marine is hurt, or even loses his life.
“An aircraft maintainer’s job is to ensure that flights can be completed successfully and safely,” said Master Sgt. William Hetrick, aircraft maintenance chief for Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115. “If one of my Marines came into the hangar after a night of partying and using a controlled substance, they are putting lives in danger.”
Aside from being unfit for duty, an impaired Marine also places an undue burden on his unit and its mission.
“If I have a Marine accused of using Spice, I cannot consciously allow them to work on these aircraft ... [because] it can lead to work that is not done properly and in the end it can jeopardize our mission and our pilots’ lives,” Hetrick said.
The expectation for how Marines should conduct themselves has not changed and punishment for using Spice is a reality that users will face.
“Once we stepped on the yellow footprints we knew the higher standards we were agreeing to uphold,” said Sgt. Maj. Andrew Marshall, the sergeant major of Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron. “After that moment we were expected to follow and live by those higher standards.
“Spice is not going to be tolerated and if you use it you will be caught and punished to the extent of an administrative separation,” Marshall concluded.
If a Marine finds himself struggling he should look to his command support network or the substance abuse prevention specialists available through Marine Corps Community Services at 228-1620/2044/7057.
“Our Marines need to understand we care about them and their well being—we will never compromise in that regard,” Jensen said. “It is mission critical to our nation’s defense that they operate at peak efficiency—no exceptions. These substances adversely affect the military readiness as well as the health, morale, safety and welfare of our service members.”
For an up-to-date list of off-limits establishments, please contact your command.