Physical fitness is the main criteria for getting in to the armed forces. The levels of physical fitness are higher for Marine Corps. It is because they have to work under conditions that demand high levels of physical fitness and mental concentration. Sometimes aspirants for the marine forces may be physically fit but may be rejected just because they were users of illicit drugs. Most of the drugs that men commonly use are morphine, cannabinoids, opioids, etc. many of these drug habits would have started as a consequence of some medication like analgesic but later on led to dependence. So the Marine Corps drug testing has got stringent rules for testing their candidates.
Marine Corps drug testing program is not aimed at eliminating the drug abusers rather they want to help them kick off the habit and alleviate the risk factors that predispose to drug abuse. For this reason the DOD has evolved two well defined strategies namely the command education and the urinalysis program.
The aim of the marine drug test program is to educate the corps regarding the harmful effects of the use of illicit drugs and to give them a clear knowledge about the various adverse effects related to it. Many of the corps become drug addicts only after coming to the marine forces owing to the increased stress, boredom, work related problems, etc. Further the program aims at educating the commanding officers and the supervisors in having a thorough knowledge about the drug use among their cadre.
But many times some of the Marine Corps who want to kick of their drug abuse habit suffer because of the zero tolerance policy of the marine forces. But through the marine drug testing program, once the commander identifies such a problem, he would rather help the person in kicking off the habit rather than nailing them to the cross.
The maritime drug testing comprises of a urinalysis program where all the men belonging to a unit are tested annually for the drugs under the compulsory drug testing program. Even the high rank officials are not spared. Nearly 10 % of the unit members are tested monthly under this scheme of random drug testing. If any marine comes to duty after a long leave, he will be tested within the next 72 hours for the presence of any drug. All the results are registered and maintained effectively using software designed exclusively for this purpose.
