Joshua Adams-Thesis

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Master's Capstone Theses

8-2014

The Prevalance of Synthetic Cannabinoids in ArmyUnifiorm and the Military Law EnforcementOfficer's Battle: An Analysis from 2011-2013Joshua Lee Adams

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Recommended CitationAdams, Joshua Lee, "The Prevalance of Synthetic Cannabinoids in Army Unifiorm and the Military Law Enforcement Officer's Battle:An Analysis from 2011-2013" (2014). Master's Capstone Theses. Paper 16.

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School of Public Service and Health

Criminal Justice Program

The thesis for the master’s degree submitted by

Joshua Lee Adams

under the title

THE PREVALANCE OF SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS IN ARMY UNIFORM AND THE

MILITARY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER'S BATTLE: AN ANALYSIS FROM 2011-

2013

has been read by the undersigned. It is hereby recommended for acceptance by the faculty with

credit in the amount of three semester hours.

Charles Russo Ph.D Date: 3/25/2014 Charles Russo, Ph.D., Reader Recommended for approval on behalf of the program __Vincent Giordano Ph.D Date: 4/1/2014 Vincent Giordano, Ph.D., Program Director Recommendation accepted on behalf of the program director

Date: 4/2/2014 Constance St. Germain, J.D., Dean Approved by Academic Dean

Running head: SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS AND THE U.S. ARMY 1

THE PREVALANCE OF SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS IN ARMY

UNIFORM AND THE MILITARY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER'S

BATTLE: AN ANALYSIS FROM 2011-2013

A Master Thesis

Submitted to the Faculty

of

American Military University

by

Joshua Lee Adams

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree

of

Master of Arts in Criminal Justice

May 25, 2014

American Military University

Charles Town, WV

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS AND THE U.S. ARMY 2

The author hereby grants the American Public University System the right to display these contents for educational purposes. The author assumes total responsibility for meeting the requirements set by United States copyright law for the inclusion of any materials that are not the author’s creation or in the public domain. © Copyright 2014 by Joshua L. Adams All rights reserved.


DEDICATION

I dedicate this thesis to my wonderful wife Michelle, my son Jaden, and my twin

brother Johnathan. Undoubtedly, this project has taken a lot of time out our lives.

Without their patience, understanding, support, love and hugs, I would not have been able

to complete this thesis and further pursue my educational goals.


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to thank all of the professors at American Military University (AMU)

whom I have had the privilege to teach me during the past two years. I would like to

thank Dr. Charles Russo for his guidance, patience, and mentorship during this endeavor.

I would also like to thank God for giving me the strength and mental toughness to be able

to accomplish a lifelong goal of mine.

I have found my coursework at AMU to be very demanding and relevant in

today's criminal justice and criminological professions. Many football games and lazy

pajama nights were missed during the pursuit of this degree and the writing of this thesis,

but my father always said, "nothing worth having is ever easy to obtain."


ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS

THE PREVALANCE OF SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS IN ARMY UNIFORM:

THE MILITARY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER'S BATTLE

by

Joshua L. Adams

American Public University System, May 25, 2014

Charles Town, West Virginia

Professor Charles Russo, Thesis Professor The purpose of this work is to offer the military law enforcement officer a new

perspective on synthetic cannabinoid investigations by exploring themes identified by

conducting content analysis of final/closed United States Army Criminal Investigation

Command (USACIDC) or "CID", reports of investigation (ROIs) and Provost Marshal

Office (PMO) military police reports (MPRs). The theory of content analysis was

explored by reviewing ROIs from the military installations of Forts Bragg, NC and Fort

Bliss, TX from 2011-2013. A historical perspective on synthetic cannabinoids and why

they were first created is presented. Synthetic cannabinoids that are currently on the

Controlled Substance Act (CSA) are explained, and adolescent as well as teenager views

of synthetic cannabinoid use is examined. The physical effects of synthetic cannabinoid

use are also elaborated on in this project; the evolution and adaptation of procedures

created by the Army in the "war on cannabinoids" in the Army are explored.

Keywords: synthetic cannabinoid, "spice", USACIDC, army, law enforcement


TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ ......... 9 Statement of the Problem ..................................................................... ....... 11 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 13

Deployed Environment................................................................................. 14 Identification of Synthetic Cannabinoid Blends ......................................... 15 Physical Effects of Use................................................................................. 18 Legal Talking Points of Synthetic Cannabinoid Investigations................. 18 Dissecting Knowing, Intelligent, and Voluntary ........................................ 19 Military Article 31(b) Rights ....................................................................... 20 Custody (Military) ........................................................................................ 20 Interrogation (Military) ................................................................................ 21 Knowing, Intelligent, and Voluntary (Military) ......................................... 21 Pharmacology ............................................................................................... 22 Stress and Potential of Abuse in Servicemen and Women ........................ 23 Exposures Reported to Poison Control Center ........................................... 24 Beliefs of Teenage Male Cannabinoid Offenders ...................................... 25 Treatment of Synthetic Cannabinoid Intoxication ...................................... 26 Synthetic Cannabinoid Use in Adolescents ................................................ 26 History Repeats Itself ................................................................................... 27 The Challenge of Synthetic Cannabinoid Testing ...................................... 29 Testing Urine Specimens in the Armed Forces .......................................... 31 Laboratory Analysis of Synthetic Cannabinoids in the Military ............... 32

III. METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................... 33 Definition of Key Terms .............................................................................. 33 Study Population ........................................................................................... 34 Data Collection ............................................................................................. 35 Operationalization of Key Variables ........................................................... 37 Dependent Variables..................................................................................... 37 Independent Variables .................................................................................. 37

Limitations of the Study ............................................................................... 38 Assumptions and Limitations ...................................................................... 38

IV. RESULTS...................................................................................................... 38

Fort Bliss (2011) ........................................................................................... 38 Hot Spots of Synthetic Cannabinoid Investigations-Fort Bliss ................. 43 Fort Bragg (2011) ......................................................................................... 45 Hot Spots of Synthetic Cannabinoid Investigations-Fort Bragg ............... 48 Fort Bliss (2012) ........................................................................................... 50

Hot Spots of Synthetic Cannabinoid Investigations-Fort Bliss (2012). .... 53


Fort Bragg (2012) ......................................................................................... 54 Hot Spots of Synthetic Cannabinoid Investigations-Fort Bragg (2012). .. 56 V. DISCUSSION ............................................................................................... 58

Research Questions....................................................................................... 58 Answer to Research Question #1 ................................................................. 58 Answer to Research Question #2 ................................................................. 58 Answer to Research Question #3 ................................................................. 58 Answer to Research Question #4 ................................................................. 59 Hypotheses .................................................................................................... 59 Hypothesis #1................................................................................................ 59 Hypothesis #2................................................................................................ 59 Hypothesis #3................................................................................................ 59 Conclusion..................................................................................................... 60

LIST OF REFERENCES .......................................................................................... 63


LIST OF TABLES

TABLE PAGE

1. Total Number of Drug Cases by Drug Type.................................................................... 39 2. Investigations by Drug Type Committed by Soldiers and Civilians .............................. 39 3. Military vs Civilian Offenders .......................................................................................... 40 4. Total Military Offenders by Rank and Drug Type .......................................................... 41 5. Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age .................................................................. 41 6. Drug of Choice for Military and Civilian Offenders ....................................................... 43 7. Possible Saturation Patrol and Target Locations ............................................................. 44 8. Total Number of Drug Cases by Drug Type.................................................................... 45 9. Investigations by Drug Type Committed by Soldiers and Civilians .............................. 46 10. Military vs Civilian Offenders ........................................................................................ 46 11. Total Military Offenders by Rank and Drug Type ........................................................ 47 12. Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age................................................................ 47 13. Possible Saturation Patrol and Target Locations ........................................................... 49 14. Total Number of Drug Cases by Drug Type.................................................................. 50 15. Investigations by Drug Type Committed by Soldiers and Civilians ............................ 51 16. Total Military Offenders by Rank and Drug Type ........................................................ 51 17. Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age................................................................ 52 18. Drugs of Choice for Military and Civilian Offenders ................................................... 53 19. Total Number of Drug Cases by Drug Type.................................................................. 54 20. Total Military Offenders by Rank and Drug Type ........................................................ 55 21. Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age................................................................ 55


CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

Serving in the United States Army is a privilege and a great honor for many men and

women across the nation. These Soldiers are America's sons, daughters, mothers, grandmothers,

aunts, and uncles. In today's mainstream media, stories of service member misconduct are

rampant and are in no short supply. After over 11 years of combat, the Army is transitioning

back from a combat fighting force to one that is restructuring and reducing the number of

individuals who are allowed to serve because of congressional budget cuts and new mandates.

As fewer troops see combat and the focus shifts to that of training and basic combat skill

sustainment, many Soldiers have chosen to participate in illegal drug activity (Arnold, 2013).

Since the 1990s, the Army has adopted "zero tolerance" policies pertaining to illegal drug

use (Bachman, Freedman-Doran, O'Malley, Johnston, & Segal, 1999). During 2006, a large part

of this illegal activity was in the form of the use and possession of synthetic cannabinoids, often

referred to as "Spice." The organization responsible for conducting these felony level

investigations within the United States Army is the United States Army Criminal Investigation

Command (USACIDC) or "CID" which the author currently serves as a special agent. Due to the

rise of synthetic cannabinoid use and possession investigations in the United States Army, policy

changes were implemented in order to combat it. These changes have been swift and deliberate

and have originated from the desks of the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Army.

Since senior level leadership enacted policy changes, one can deduce that the Army identified

the major problems synthetic cannabinoids created within the world's most powerful Army. Two

changes these policies have enacted come in the form of adding synthetic cannabinoid

metabolites to random urinalysis drug screening required of all uniformed personnel, and


officially banning synthetic cannabinoid use, possession, and sale both on and off duty and both

on and off military installations (Moonhee, Wonkyung, Hyeyoung, Hyejin, & Sooyeun, 2013).

The following vignette is a fictional story that exemplifies what military members face on

a daily basis. SPC Joseph Anderson was a young Soldier at his first duty station of Fort Bragg,

NC when he was first exposed to the synthetic cannabinoid culture. It all began when he was

inprocessing and he met PFC Johnathan Kyle. Joseph did not have a vehicle since he was fresh

out of high school. He did not have a family to co-sign for him and had no credit to purchase a

vehicle so he asked Johnathan for a ride to a local Food Lion grocery store in order for her to fill

his refrigerator. The grocery store was approximately 15 minutes off base. Joseph and Johnathan

went to the grocery store, but Johnathan made an unexpected stop at a local tobacco shop,

commonly known as a "smoke shop" or a "head shop." Customers go to smoke shops in order to

purchase everything from cigarettes and cigars to rolling papers and smoking devices that are

considered drug paraphernalia when used in conjunction with illegal substances. When

Johnathan returned back to his vehicle, Joseph asked him why he stopped at the smoke shop;

Johnathan's demeanor and facial expression clearly showed that he was uncomfortable.

Johnathan informed him that he had about $35 dollars left in his bank account, and that

he planned on smoking Spice in his room when he arrived back on Fort Bragg, NC since he was

very stressed out about getting promoted and being away from home for the first time, just like

Joseph. Johnathan showed Joseph the small, brightly colored foil packet he had just purchased

which contained approximately 35 grams of the name brand synthetic cannabinoid "Scooby

Snacks". While in Johnathan's car, Joseph asked him what the effects of synthetic cannabinoids

were because he did not want Johnathan to think that he was too scared to try new things. Joseph

also thought it would be good to start his military career off by having a friend whom he could


depend on to give him rides to and from physical fitness training early in the morning so he did

not have to walk a mile just to participate because Joseph was well aware that timeliness is a

very important aspect of military culture.

When Johnathan and Joseph arrived back at their rooms, Joseph succumbed to peer

pressure and, not wanting to appear weak and scared, he smoked a hand rolled synthetic

cannabinoid cigarette with Joseph. The effects were immediate, swift, and acute. Joseph's pupils

immediately dilated and he informed Johnathan that he had a headache and felt "weird." Within

minutes, Joseph began to have a seizure in Johnathan's room, even though he immediately called

emergency medical services to render aid to his friend, it was too late. Joseph was pronounced

dead at the scene and, following an investigation by CID, Johnathan was charged with

involuntary manslaughter; he is now serving a 10 year prison sentence at Fort Leavenworth

Disciplinary Barracks in Kansas.

Although fictional, this story is a true and accurate representation of what many young

Soldiers have to face when they enter the United States Army. Some young people may say that

they do not want to join the military because they want to enjoy all the frills of the "college

experience" of dorm living and being independent; however, a service member lives in barracks

rooms, can also go to college while gaining practical experience, and there is one more very

distinctive thing that separates the Soldier from the student; a Soldier has a steady pay check

whereas most full-time college students do not. The reality of this is that these are the sons,

daughters, fathers, and mothers, of the fabric of America and they deserve a better start in life

and in their future careers.

Statement of the Problem. The purpose of this work is to offer a military law enforcement

perspective on synthetic cannabinoid investigations as there is currently a void in relevant


research and analysis. The research conducted will answer the following research questions: (a)

what percentage of caseload do synthetic cannabinoid investigations make up of the CID gross

aggregate drug caseload in the larger installations of Fort Bragg, NC and Fort Bliss, TX (b) what

is the rate of recidivism among military offenders even though there is currently a zero tolerance

policy(c) are the majority of incidents occurring off or on the military installation and (d) how

much synthetic cannabinoid does the average offender purchase during one transaction? Forts

Bragg and Bliss are some of the larger military installations in the Army's arsenal and they are

also offer situated in different geographic regions allowing for regional comparative analysis and

for greater diversity in data mining. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) currently has

five chemical compounds in emergency scheduling (Schedule I) under the Controlled Substances

Act. These substances are JHW-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497, and CP-47-497 C8

(DEA, 2014). Synthetic cannabinoid use in the Army has gained the attention, time, money, and

health of a major portion of the younger Soldiers in the Army. Research must be conducted in

order to enhance the effectiveness of CID's proactive drug operations which also includes

support and a cooperative effort by local law enforcement agencies as the source of synthetic

cannabinoids to Soldiers are business establishments outside of the Army's command and

control. The work of Bebarta, Ramirez, and Varney, (2012) states "due to the inability to detect

Spice on routine urine drug screens, easy accessibility online and in local stores, and the 'legal

high' it provides, it is appealing to the military communities" (p. 496).


CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

Psychoactive substance use in the military is not a new phenomenon. Unfortunately, it

will continue to be a problem as long as society continues to abuse substances. The nation's

military is recruited from the cloth of American society after all. In order to find solutions to

future problems, one must look to the past. In the past, rations of rum were deemed a part of

everyday life for the Soldier (Bachman, Freedman-Doan, O'Malley, Johnston, & Segal, 1999). It

was believed that by receiving rum, troop morale would be higher, especially during the time of

the American Revolution. During World War I and World War II, Soldiers were given cigarettes

with their food, and it was oftentimes commonplace to see a picture of a Soldier smoking before,

during, or after battle. These pictures could be found on billboards from coast to coast. No other

conflict in history is perhaps more famous for depicting our young men and women in the Army

as having a substance abuse addiction than that of the conflict of Vietnam (Bachman et al.,

1999). "Because military service involves a high level of commitment to, and involvement in, an

institution that strictly organizes many aspects of an individual's lifestyle, a 'zero tolerance'

policy might reasonably be expected to have importance impacts on the behaviors of military

personnel" (Bachman et al., 1999, p. 672).

Modern military organizations are mainly paternalistic organizations, and it's members

typically recognize a duty of care toward military personnel and are willing to ignore or violate

the consent of military personnel in order to uphold that duty of care (Wolfendale & Clarke,

2008). One of the things a civilian learns during the transformation from civilian to Soldier

during Basic Combat Training is the concept of selfless service. Civilian personnel are able to

exercise a considerable number of autonomy in their lives, unlike their military counterparts.


Deployed Environment. Synthetic cannabinoids have become more popular with each passing

day since entered the American public market in approximately 2004. Spice can be easily

obtained via the world wide web and in local stores. This also means that anyone with a credit

card, to include juveniles, can order synthetic cannabinoids for subsequent sale or personal use.

The "legal high" that synthetic cannabinoids bring is appealing to military communities since

many metabolites were not initially screened for during random urinalysis testing conducted by

the Army. Soldiers and Sailors were among the earliest users of synthetic cannabinoids in the

United States (Bebarta, Ramirez, & Vareny, 2012). This is an alarming fact that has shocked

many people in the American society since one must undergo intense scrutiny and selection in

order to enlist in the United States military or to be commissioned as an Officer or Warrant

Officer by the President of the United States. Most servicemen and women are believed to be

made up of a higher moral cloth than that of the average citizen. The normal effects of synthetic

cannabinoids offer the same general effects as traditional marijuana (a Schedule I) controlled

substance, without the danger of being detected during a random urine urinalysis. Offenders

make a conscious decision that the risk is worth the gain of the high.

According to the work of Bebarta et al., (2012), the normal adverse reactions to synthetic

cannabinoids are paranoia, scleral injection, xerostomia, visual persecutory hallucinations,

sedation, and agitation. Synthetic cannabinoid use can also have severe adverse effects with

common medicines like diphenhydramine and acetaminophen (Tylenol) (Bebarta et al., 2012).

There have also been reports of seizures as an effect of synthetic cannabinoid intoxication, and

preliminary studies have indicated that cannabinoids can possibly lower the seizure threshold in

humans (Bebarta et al., 2012). The seizure side effect is of particular importance when one is


talking about a Soldier being in a deployed and isolated environment where the nearest hospital

or military treatment facility (MTF) could be over 100 miles away.

Identification of Synthetic Cannabinoid Blends. The work of Logan, Reinhold, Xu, and

Diamond (2012) indicated that the recreational drug community has experienced an increase in

popularity of herbal or incense products laced with one or more synthetic cannabinoid agonists,

drugs with cannabinoid-like properties. Synthetic cannabinoid agonists were synthesized in the

1990s in academic research centers and in the pharmaceutical industry as candidate

investigational drugs and have in common an affinity for the cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors

that are located in the brain. In November of 2010, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

proposed adding HU-210, JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497, and cannabicyclohexanol

to Schedule I of the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) (Logan et al., 2012). These compounds also

inhibit and mimic the same effects as that of THC. Even states at the local level have radically

and aggressively moved to schedule the aforementioned chemical compounds at the local level

into criminal statutes because of community concerns about their potential of abuse and lack of

accepted medical use.

This all correlates to the reason why synthetic cannabinoids are placed as Schedule I

controlled substances as they have a high potential for dependency and abuse and have no

accepted medical use. It is ironic that this is why they were first made in the first place. Mankind

will turn something with the greatest intention of causing good into something that hurts people.

After the first states (Missouri and Kansas) enacted legislation to officially make JWH-018 and

JWH-073, the two most commonly used compounds found in herbal incense blends, illegal new

products appeared in the online "incense" market (Logan et al., 2012). In 2012, the most

common blended material in America was named "K2" and was marketed as incense. The


material was typically sold in a small mylar bag with a zip lock closure. Today, most

manufacturers packaging is comprised of foil material. The contents of the bag contained

approximately one to three grams of a mixture of dried and crush plant material which included

flowers, stems, and leaves. K2 also contained a perfume odor.

When K2 first appeared on the scene, it was marketed as an incense and contained the

words "not for human consumption" on the manufacturer's packaging. K2 was also sold as

incense for burning, and drug-user websites indicated that the material should be smoked in

cigarettes, joints, or pipes much like the apparatus commonly used for ingesting marijuana

(Logan et al., 2012). The author has personally seen everything from cigarette cans to electronic

cigarettes (e-cigs) being used in order to facilitate synthetic cannabinoid ingestion. The same

drug paraphernalia used when smoking marijuana (rolling papers, bongs, etc.) can be used when

an offender smokes synthetic cannabinoids. Germany is recognized in the international

community for it's initial research in identifying the compounds found in synthetic cannabinoids

and for leading the initial criminalization effort (Johnson, Johnson, & Alfonzo, 2011).

The production, sale, distribution, and possession of many of the specific psychoactive

synthetic chemicals found in synthetic cannabinoids were banned in Germany in 2009,

approximately two years before the United States. As soon as four weeks after criminalization,

samples of synthetic cannabinoids were obtained throughout the country which indicated the

producers had already replaced the banned compounds with new unregulated chemicals. There

are currently multiple formulations of synthetic cannabinoids circulating worldwide. Of

particular importance to this project, interviews were conducted of smoke shop owners who

reported up to 50% of customers purchasing synthetic cannabinoids were in active duty military

training (Johnson et al., 2011). Their work also indicated that service members made large


quantities of purchases of synthetic cannabinoids before a deployment and on a payday. Because

of the previous inability to test for Spice during urinalysis testing in the military, service

members favor them as do law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and other positions of public

trust who are subject to random and scheduled drug testing. Because of the difficulty in detecting

synthetic cannabinoids by all of the uniformed services, all services have increased

administrative efforts to ban possession and use of synthetic cannabinoids and other

psychoactive substances.

Army Regulation 600-85 prohibits using synthetic cannabinoids "for the purpose of

inducing excitement, intoxication, or stupefaction of the central nervous system." The United

States Army Pacific released policy memorandum 10-17 in 2008 that prohibited the possession,

distribution, and use of synthetic cannabinoids and other currently unscheduled psychoactive

substances. Cases of unscheduled synthetic cannabinoid use, possession and distribution are

punishable under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Those cases that

involve a scheduled synthetic cannabinoid are investigated under Article 112(a) (use, possession,

distribution, and introduction of a controlled substance) of the UCMJ and carry the same penalty

as their Schedule I cohorts. Punishment can range from confinement in prison for up to one year

and/or receiving a dishonorable discharge from the military service.

The New Trend. "Designer drugs are types of synthetic drugs that are produced clandestinely

and contain modified molecular structures of illegal or controlled substances" (Loeffler, Hurst,

Penn, & Yung, 2012, p. 1041). More specifically, designer drugs provide effects similar to the

controlled substances while circumventing existing drug laws. Circumvention is exactly why

synthetic cannabinoid use in the Army is as prevalent as it is today. The work of Loeffler et al.,

(2012) illustrated how the men and women in the United States armed forces are not immune to


designer drug use and abuse. In June 2011, 30 Airmen of Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma were

discharged for synthetic cannabinoid use. During the same month, an Army combat medic who

had proven himself as a combat leader by having served two combat deployments, asphyxiated

his five year old son then shot and killed his wife and himself while high on "bath salts" that are

considered synthetic cathinones (Loeffler et al., 2012). In October 2011, 64 Sailors were

apprehended for synthetic cannabinoid use and possession while on board the USS Carl Vinson;

one month later 28 more Sailors on the USS Ronald Reagan were caught for synthetic

cannabinoid use and possession (Loeffle et al., 2012). Synthetic cannabinoids resulted in the

expulsion of 16 United States Navy midshipmen from the Naval Academy in July 2011,

followed by 14 Coast Guard Academy cadets in January 2012 (Loeffler et al., 2012).

Physical Effects of Use. Both acute and long-term physical and psychological effects of

synthetic cannabinoid use have not been well-documented until fairly recently. In 2012,

information about synthetic cannabinoids in the military came almost exclusively from self-

reports of offenders using them. Controversy exists as to whether cannabis use causes chronic

psychotic illnesses; however, it is generally agreed that cannabis intoxication can cause an acute

transient psychotic episode as well as recurrence of a previous or dormant psychotic symptoms

(Ballweg, 1991). To the law enforcement officer, this is an important aspect of Spice use that

must be understood, especially when an offender must be apprehended.

Legal Talking Points of Synthetic Cannabinoid Investigations

The United States Congress has indicated that the military of the United States of

American is a "unique society of its own" and as such, should implement and have its own

separate criminal justice system. All Supreme Court decisions effect the entire American

population, in particular, the field of law enforcement; the case of Miranda v. Arizona surely did.


The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the three lower courts cases and found that

confessions obtained from individuals when they were subjected to custodial interrogation

without being advised of their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination was

unconstitutional because this right was jeopardized. In order to protect one's rights henceforth, a

safeguard was mandated in the form of law enforcement officials having to verbally, written, or

both inform a suspect or subject of their right against self-incrimination before any questioning

can begin. A suspect has the right to remain silent and has the right to know that anything they

say or do can be used against them in a court of law; they also have the right to have an attorney

present, and if they cannot afford an attorney one could be appointed to them prior to any

questioning beginning (U.S. Const, 1791).

Dissecting Knowing, Intelligent, and Voluntary

Of additional importance, after these aforementioned rights have been read to the

individual accused, a law enforcement officer can interrogate the suspect only after a knowing,

intelligent, and voluntary waiver of those rights. "Knowing" and "intelligent" refers to one's

understanding all of their rights as they were explained to that person (U.S. Const, 1791). This

can simply be done by asking the defendant if they understand their rights as they were read to

an individual in addition to what could possibly happen to them if they waived their rights.

"Voluntary" refers to the principle that a waiver of one's rights cannot be obtained by police

coercion or intimidation (Amendment V). This is oftentimes portrayed in police movies and

television shows by shining a bright and hot light into one's face or even throwing or hitting a

defendant with a large telephone book. These actions are expressly forbidden by law and have a

negative impact with the police and the communities they are supposed to protect. If the waiver

of one's rights does not satisfy what the author calls this "three-pronged test", than any


confession or evidence obtained from the confession is inadmissible under the Exclusionary Rule

even if the defendant actually committed the crime. Many people today cannot fathom the fact

that a clearly guilty person could be allowed to not serve a jail sentence or receive any form of

punishment for their crimes. The Constitution is very clear about violations of a defendant's

rights which is why the law enforcement and judiciary professional must know the law in order

to enforce and apply the law both accurately and effectively.

Military Article 31(b) Rights. The United States military has additional clear rules as it pertains

to the right against self-incrimination of an accused which are identified as Article 31(b) rights

within the Manual for Courts-Martial (M.C.M.), 2012. The MCM, Rule 301, indicates that both

Fifth Amendment privileges and Article 31 of the M.C.M. are applicable to active duty service

members for testimonial and communicative statements. Article 31(b) states "No person subject

to this chapter may request a statement from, an accused or a person suspected of an offense

without first informing him of his rights" (M.C.M., 2012). This is an important point of interest

for the military law enforcement officer and unit commander to know because even if he or she

smells what they think is Spice emitting from a Soldier's room, the law enforcement officer and

the unit commander must advise an active duty service member of their right against self-

incrimination before they ask an alleged offender if they currently possess or ingested synthetic

cannabinoid, even when not in custody. One can see how this rule slightly defers from the

Miranda decision and adds another layer of protection to the service member.

Custody (Military). The M.C.M. defines custody as:

"restraint of free locomotion imposed by lawful apprehension. The restraint may be

physical or, once there has been a submission to apprehension or a forcible taking into


custody. Custody is temporary restraint intended to continue until other restraint is

imposed or the person is released" (M.C.M., 2012)

Interrogation (Military). "Interrogation" applies whenever an incriminating response is either

sought or is a reasonable consequence of such questioning. As one can see, we have now

stumbled upon one of the most definitive and important main differences between civilian and

military self-incrimination standards.

Knowing, Intelligent, and Voluntary (Military). The same definitions for civilians also apply

to active members of the United States military.

No one person is born with the knowledge to know everything there is to know about

criminal law; especially, when it comes to the military and civilian aspects of it. If one is a police

officer, lawyer, security specialist, and even a probation officer, they must know the major

differences and similarities between the two in order for there to be a decent balance. For

instance, if a military member lives off base and commits a crime, that initial patrol officer can

affect the outcome of a military court-martial without their knowledge. When it comes to law,

there is no such thing as the "I didn't know" exception. The author would not want to get caught

saying the aforementioned phrase at a court-martial or a civilian criminal proceeding. The right

to not be a witness against oneself is specified by the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution that

has been discussed and expounded upon in this work. The civilian and military criminal

procedure systems are bands of justice that meet in the middle. In the middle of both these circle

is the United States Constitution.

Pharmacology

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists consist of four different groups of chemical

structures and these chemicals bind to the same CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors as THC. The


CB1 receptor is expressed most densely in the central nervous system, mainly in the

hippocampus, basal ganglia, neocortex, amygdala, and cerebellum (Loeffler et al., 2012). It is

also found throughout the body to include the digestive tract, lungs, kidney, and the pituitary

gland. The CB2 receptor is also communicated through the brain less densely and can be found

predominantly in neurons.

The largest structural group of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists are "JWH"

compounds named after Dr. John W. Huffman, an organic chemist at Clemson University, who

synthesized many of the banned and unbanned compounds in synthetic cannabinoids. JWH's

chemical structure is different from THC. The JWH class has a much higher affinity to

cannabinoid receptors and is significantly more potent. JWH-018, one of the earliest and most

common compounds detected in synthetic cannabinoids is also among the best characterized.

Compared to THC, JWH-018 has four times the affinity for the CB1. JWH-018 is a full agonist as

well (Loeffler et al., 2012).

CP-47,497 was originally developed by the Pfizer pharmaceutical company and is also a

common compound found in synthetic cannabinoids used by servicemen and women. Similar to

JWH-018, it has higher affinity for the CB1 receptor. It is also up to 28 times more potent than

THC. This is an alarming statistic. Most individuals who want more potent marijuana would

have to travel to the state of Hawaii or Colorado; however, Spice has made it easier for the drug

abuser to find a way to experience the effects of very potent marijuana with a high THC level

without all the hassle of having to wonder if it will be "in season" or not. There is no wonder

individuals prepare Spice over traditional organic marijuana as it relieves some form of hassle

for the user (Loeffler et al., 2012).


The "HU" family of synthetic cannabinoids are structurally very similar to THC. HU-210

was developed at Hebrew University and binds both the CB1 and CB2 receptors. HU is

approximately 100 to 800 times more potent than THC. HU-210 has been associated with

problems in learning and memory in animal models (Loeffler et al., 2012). In one study, rats

were given HU-210 once a day for four days and demonstrated continued cognitive deficits even

following seven days of no exposure.

Benzoylindoles comprise the fourth group of class of synthetic cannabinoids. AM-694

and RCS-4 have been the most recent compounds found in this class of synthetic cannabinoids.

Very little is known of these substances except that they bond strongly to the receptors

previously identified in this work (Loeffler et al., 2012).

Stress and Potential of Abuse in Servicemen and Women. Military women and men are

subject to a wide range of stressors commensurate with performing their official duties. As such,

these stressors may be associated with the physical or mental challenges of their jobs, demands

placed on them because of a shortage of other personnel, exposure to trauma associated with

combat, or conflicts between military and family responsibilities (Bray, Fairbank, & Marsden,

1999). Today, the military is undergoing a drawdown and thousands of Soldiers have to face the

reality that their services in the military are no longer needed. This can be a stressful time for

anyone. Military women may experience stress associated with being a woman in a

predominantly male environment or because of sexual harassment they may encounter. Military

personnel are also likely to experience the same stressors as other people outside the military,

including the stress of family and work responsibilities and uncertainties introduced by changing

economic conditions. Exposure to traumatic stressors has been strongly implicated in the

elevated rates of substance abuse and dependence among veterans, and substance abuse has been


found to be highly correlative with post-traumatic stress disorders (Bray et al., 1999). Women

who served in Vietnam and experienced high levels of war zone stress were found to have

significantly higher rates of drug abuse and dependence than did other women veterans of the

Vietnam era, while women theater veterans who were exposed to lower levels of such stress did

not have significantly more drug dependency disorders than did other women veterans of the

Vietnam era (Bray et al., 1999).

Exposures Reported to Poison Control Centers. Synthetic cannabinoids have recently gained

popularity as a recreational drug because they are believed to result in a marijuana-like high. The

work of Forrester, Kleinschmidt, Schwarz, and Young (2012) compared synthetic cannabinoids

and marijuana exposures reported to a statewide poison center system. Synthetic cannabinoid

and marijuana exposures reported to Texas poison centers during 2010 were identified. The

distribution of exposures to the two agents with respect to various demographic and clinical

factors were compared by calculating the rate ratio (RR) of the synthetic cannabinoid and

marijuana percentages for each subgroup and 95% confidence interval (CI). Further, the work of

Forrester et al., (2012) states:

"The proportion of synthetic cannabinoid and marijuana exposures, respectively, were

87.3% and 46.5% via inhalation (RR 1.88, 95% CI 1.38–2.61), 74.9% and 65.7% in

male (RR 1.14, 95% CI 0.87–1.51), 40.2% and 56.6% age _19 years (RR 0.71, 95% CI

0.52–0.98), 79.2% and 58.6% occurring at a residence (RR 1.35, 95% CI 1.02–1.82),

8.4% and 16.2% managed on-site (RR 0.52. 95% CI 0.28–1.00), and 59.3% and 41.4%

with serious medical outcomes (RR 1.43, 95% CI 1.03–2.05)" (p. 1006).

Compared to marijuana, synthetic cannabinoid exposures were more likely to be used through

inhalation, to involve adults, to be used at a residence, and to result in serious outcomes.


Beliefs of Teenage Male Cannabinoid Users

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, a 56% increase in

human exposure calls related to synthetic cannabinoids were documented from 2010 to 2012

(Meshack, Peters, Ting-Lin, Hill, Abughosh, Essien, & Savage, 2013). The work of Meshack et

al., (2013) conducted a qualitative study of data collected through the Fifth Ward Enrichment

Program (FWEP) in Houston, Texas. Members of the project team met with school personnel

from a large and diverse charter high school in Houston to secure approval to conduct the study

in 2012. School personnel were asked to identify students who would be interested in

participating in focus groups about synthetic cannabinoid smoking norms.

Five major open-ended questions were asked during the course of the groups to identify

participants' subjective norms and general beliefs related to synthetic cannabinoid use, as well as

the source of their access to the drug. This work is relevant to this project in that the author's

research indicates teenagers as main offenders in CID synthetic cannabinoid investigations. The

five questions asked in the study were: (1) From where do you receive synthetic marijuana?; (2)

Why do people use synthetic marijuana?; (3) How many puffs of real marijuana versus synthetic

marijuana does it take for you to get high?; (4) What do your friends feel about people who use

synthetic marijuana?; and (5) What are the health consequences of synthetic marijuana use

(Meshack et al., 2013)?

When asked to name the source where synthetic cannabinoids were obtained, 44% of

respondents stated "smoke shop" as their primary place of acquisition. This answer corroborates

the statement analysis conducted in this project. The most common reason that respondents

(61%) stated they used synthetic cannabinoids was because of "probation compliance" and

"accessibility" (24%). The most common response related to the dosing required to obtain mind


and or mood altering effects from "real" marijuana were "eight" (41%) and "six" puffs (22%).

For synthetic cannabinoids, the number of puffs needed was "three" (61%) and "two" (27%).

Most participants stated that their friends felt that people who use synthetic cannabinoids were

"normal" (85%), and most respondents felt that "irregular fast heart beat" (43%) and "paranoia"

(29%) were the two most perceived health consequences of Spice use. The majority of

respondents felt that the euphoric effect created by marijuana could be achieved with less intake

of synthetic cannabinoids. In addition, respondents felt that their health effects resulting from the

use of synthetic cannabinoids, included tachycardia, paranoia, and memory loss. This

information is crucial in the war against synthetic cannabinoids in the Army since this work will

later illustrate that the majority of offenders are lower ranking Soldiers (teenagers to 20 year

olds).

Treatment of Synthetic Cannabinoid Intoxication. Management of synthetic cannabinoid

intoxication is largely supportive. Health care professionals can provide a non-stimulating

environment to soothe anxiety and agitation, and monitor the patient's vital signs. Lorazepam or

another long-acting benzodiazepine may be necessary to manage agitation, and intravenous

benadryl may be administered (McGuiness & Newell, 2012). The creator of synthetic

cannabinoids, Dr. Huffman, conducted an interview and described the recreational use of them

wherein he stated, "It's like playing Russian roulette because we do not have the toxicity data, we

do not know the metabolites, and we do not know the pharmacokinetics" (McGuiness & Newell,

2012, p. 18). The unknowns surrounding the recreational use of new chemical compounds

combined with young people's sense of invulnerability can lead to potential serious health risks

including death.


Synthetic Cannabinoid Use in Adolescents. The author has discussed synthetic cannabinoid

use in teenagers of the United States, but there is also another aggregate that is crucial in this

project, and that is adolescent use of synthetic cannabinoids as well. The work of Bhatty and Wu

(2013) indicates current statistics from the United States Center for Disease and Prevention that

39.9% of adolescents surveyed had used organic cannabinoids at least once and 23.1% used it

regularly within the last month of the survey. Those statistics showed a 3.1% increase from the

survey results in 2009; similar data showed that 11.4% of United States 12th graders have used

synthetic cannabinoids in 2013, making it the second most commonly used illicit drug among

high school seniors.

Current trends indicate a decrease in perception of harm from cannabinoids in addition to

a decrease in disapproval of use by older peers may have lead to an increase of cannabinoid use

over the past few years (Bhatty et al., 2013). There are certainly other risk factors, including pre-

existing medical conditions or mood and anxiety disorders that play a role. Since synthetic

cannabinoid potency seems to get higher and higher as the DEA schedules compounds and

makes them illegal, newer classes of synthetic cannabinoid abuse likely will become a greater

challenge.

History Repeats Itself. The recent proliferation of unregulated psychoactive substances is

unprecedented in drug abuse. Since the 1960s, the pharmaceutical and research communities

have been in search of cannabinoid receptor agonists with the analgesic and anti-inflammatory

properties of THC without psychotropic side effects (Rosenbaum, Carriero, & Babu, 2012). This

is exactly what Dr. Huffman was trying to accomplish with his work. The synthetic cannabinoids

developed over this time have led to a better understanding of the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid

receptors in the human brain and nervous system. With this great knowledge, comes hundreds of


synthetic cannabinoids that may be incorporated with herbal constituents or abused as single-

ingredient powder mixture. After European and Russian authorities banned synthetic

cannabinoids in 2010, they appeared in the United States (Rosenbaum et al., 2012).

Because synthetic cannabinoids are available via the Internet, monitoring of the Internet

community has been an important means of understanding emerging trends in their abuse. The

initial tracking of synthetic cannabinoids took place in the European Union (EU) with an early

warning system called (Reitox) which involved 27 EU states coordinating efforts to help identify

emerging drugs of abuse, much like how the United States has done (Rosenbaum et al., 2012). A

similarly coordinated early warning system exists in America called the Community

Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG) established by the National Institute of Drug Abuse

(NIDA). NIDA mandates representation from major metropolitan areas and meets semiannually,

where members present their geographically unique trends in drug abuse. The CEWG identified

the emerging synthetic cannabinoid epidemic in the Midwestern United States in 2010. By the

summer of 2010, a report of over 1,000 cases of synthetic cannabinoid-induced toxicity was

available via Poison Control Centers for 48 states and the District of Columbia (Rosenbaum et

al., 2012).

A new database, ToxIc shows promise in identifying emerging drugs like synthetic

cannabinoids. This database was created by the American College of Medical Toxicology

(ACMT); ToxIc provides a means for the toxicology community to centralize their research

observations on what are frequently smaller, geographically specific patterns in emerging drugs

of abuse. As awareness of the synthetic cannabinoid epidemic grew, local and federal law

enforcement efforts culminated in the scheduling of the identified synthetic cannabinoid

compounds identified in this project. The rapid scheduling of these cannabinoids met with mixed


opinions; some researchers expressed concern that the reclassification of synthetic cannabinoids

in Schedule I would hamper research on the potential benefits of cannabinoids in treating a

variety of human diseases and processes (Bhatty et al., 2013).

Synthetic cannabinoids can also be divided into seven major structural groups:

naphthoylindoles (JWH-018 and JWH-073), naphthylmethylindoles, naphtholypyrroles,

naphthylmethylindenes, phenylacetylindoles (JWH-250), cyclohexylphenols (CP47, 497), and

classical cannabinoids (HU-210). In December of 2008, the German company THC Pharma

located in Frankfurt, Germany, reported JWH-018 as an active ingredient in synthetic

cannabinoids (Lindigkeit et al., 2009). Shortly after, two research groups at the University of

Freiburg, Germany and at the National Institute of Health Sciences, Japan concurrently identified

and characterized the CP47,497 homolog in Spice It is evident that the producers of herbal

incense products have gone about in a very methodical manner to mine the scientific literature

for promising psychoactive compounds. Not all criminals are your average serial killer or burglar

that leave clues of their crimes. A very intellectual individual can also be a very smart criminal;

most likely published binding affinities were exploited as primary criterion.

The Challenge of Synthetic Cannabinoid Testing

Drug testing is useful for monitoring progress for patients in treatment. Urine drug testing

is the most common type of testing, as it is readily available and inexpensive. A positive urine

test only establishes a past use. As cannabinoid metabolites are highly lipophilic, they can persist

for extended periods of time, and urine tests for cannabinoids can remain positive after

discontinuation of use for up to seven to 10 days in a casual user, two to four weeks in a heavy

user, and months in a chronic heavy user (Bhatty et al., 2013). There is currently no widespread

commercially available drug testing for synthetic cannabinoids in the civilian sector; however,


there is standardized testing in the Department of Defense. While parent drugs are detectable in

product samples, metabolites of synthetic cannabinoids may be the only detectable compounds

present in human blood or urine. One report described the monohydroxylated metabolite (M1) of

JWH-018 as the most abundant and detectable metabolite in drug testing (Rosenbaum et al.,

2012). In another study of over 500 urine samples of patients undergoing routine drug testing,

metabolite-based liquid chromatography-mass-spectrometry (LC-MS) screening detected JWH-

018, JWH-073, and JWH-250 (Rosenbaum et al., 2012). In a combined analysis of the "Tropical

Synergy" cannabinoids, and urine obtained from users, LC-MS and gas chromatography-mass-

spectrometry (GC-MS) demonstrates that although the parent JWH-018 can sometimes not be

detected, two glucuro-conjugated and monohydroxylated metabolites are apparent. With more

research and better understanding of the problem, more education and proactive deterrent

methods could be employed; thus improving the Army's readiness and fitness.

Analysis of synthetic cannabinoids is relevant from both a clinical and law enforcement

perspective. Several studies have investigated their detection in seized material and in bodily

fluids (Emerson, Durham, Gidden, & O'Lay, 2013). Reliable detection of aminoalkylindole

(AAI) and metabolites in a variety of substrates is critical because the numbers of severe

episodes of intoxication are increasing at healthcare facilities. There are currently several

methods for detection of JWH metabolites in urine samples: using liquid chromatography and

tandem mass spectrometry. The development of a second technique, using a different approach,

would be useful for confirmation (Emerson et al., 2013). The metabolism of JWH-018 appears to

be consistent with cytochrome P450 oxidation followed by transformation to glucuronic acid

(Rosenbaum, 2012). Because of the variability of metabolic processes and differences in the time

frame of urinary retention among individuals, the free metabolites in urine may include both the


conjugates and their hydrolysis products (Rosenbaum, 2012). There are currently independent

companies that advertise a commercial test for synthetic cannabinoid detection in human

samples of urine and blood.

"Blood testing is available for metabolites of the following compounds: AM-2201, AM-

694, JWH-018, JWH-019, JWH-073, JWH-081, JWH-122, JWH-200, JWH-210, JWH-

250, RCS-4, and RCS-8; urine testing is available for metabolites of the following

compounds: AM-2201, JWH-018, JWH-019, JWH-073, and JWH-250" (Rosenbaum et

al., 2012, p. 18).

Testing Urine Specimens in the Armed Forces. Until late 2013 early 2014, the only forensic

toxicology laboratory that tested urine specimens for synthetic cannabinoids in the armed forces

was the division of forensic toxicology of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner's System

(AFMES) located in Dover, Delaware (Berry-Caban, Kleinschmidt, Rao, & Jenkins, 2012). Unit

commanders had to give a lawful order, based upon probable cause, for a service member to

submit to a urinalysis. This probable cause standard could be met by the offender informing the

unit commander that he/she recently or had used synthetic cannabinoids before, or by the request

of the CID. Most urinalysis were conducted to supplement CID requests for probable cause

urinalysis during the course of their investigations (Berry-Caban et al., 2012).

As one can imagine, receiving and analyzing numerous urinalysis samples from every

branch of the armed forces was time consuming and detracted from the AFMES primary mission

of supporting criminal and noncriminal autopsies on all service members who died in the line of

duty in support of war time operations, and to provide autopsy support to military criminal

investigative organizations (MCIOs) like CID and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service

(NCIS) to name a few. As a result of an unprecedentedly high caseload combined with the


increased demand to expand synthetic cannabinoid testing because of rampant abuse by Soldiers,

in late 2013 through early 2014 the Army incorporated synthetic cannabinoid testing into the

random drug screening process already in place to test for cocaine, THC, and all opiates

(Arnold, 2013).

Laboratory Analysis of Synthetic Cannabinoids in the Military. All evidence in support of

criminal investigations of MCIOs is sent to the Defense Forensic Science Center (DFSC) located

in Forest Park, Georgia. The DFSC is comprised of mainly civilian government employees who

are experts in trace evidence, entomology, firearms and toolmarks, latent print, drug chemistry,

digital evidence, and DNA/serology (Arnold, 2013). The DFSC provides the same services as

any traditional forensic laboratory and is accredited by the American Society of Crime

Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB-Legacy Program).

Forensic laboratory scientists and technicians conduct analysis of evidence, write formal reports,

and testify in military and civilian court proceedings (Arnold, 2013).


CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

Definition of Key Terms

• Apprehension. Depriving someone of his or her freedom of movement for the purpose of

ultimately releasing them on their own recognizance and not appear before a magistrate.

Military law enforcement officials only have apprehension, not statutory arrest authority;

therefore, in most Spice cases, they offender is apprehended and subsequently released back

to the unit on the same day (M.C.M., 2012).

• Arrest. Depriving someone of his or her freedom of movement for the purpose of not

releasing them until they have been before a magistrate who determines the severity of the

crime and makes a probable cause determination (M.C.M., 2012).

• Enlisted. Enlisted service members are defined as active-duty members of the United States'

military who hold the rank of E-1 through E-9. The ranks of E-1 through E-4 are considered

to be junior enlisted Soldiers who have approximately zero to four years of military service

(M.C.M., 2012). (E stands for enlisted)

• Juvenile. Within this study, the term juvenile will be the dependent child of a service member

under the age of 18 who are directly affected by the combat deployment of a caregiver.

• Officer. Within this study, military officers are defined as active-duty members of the United

States' military who hold the rank of W-1 through CW5 (Warrant Officer 1 and Chief Warrant

Officer 5) and O-1 through O-10 (2nd Lieutenant through General). The ranks of 2nd

lieutenant through Captain (O-3) are considered junior officers with approximately zero to

five years of active duty military service. The ranks of W-1 through CW3 (Chief Warrant

Officer 3) are considered junior warrant officer's with approximately four to five years of

military service.


• Military Installation/Fort. A reservation is land controlled by the United States' DoD that

house service members and their families (a typical city or county) (M.C.M., 2012).

• Service member. A service member is any person who enlists into the Armed Forces of the

United States of America and serves at least one day (M.C.M., 2012).

• Recidivism. The reoccurrence of criminal behavior.

• Synthetic Cannabinoid/Spice. A man-made compound created to mimic the affects of

tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient found in marijuana. There are currently

five compounds placed on the controlled substance act. Act. These substances are JHW-018,

JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497, and CP-47-497 C8 (DEA, 2014).

• Military Treatment Facility. Military term used for a common hospital.

• Offense Code. An alphanumeric code placed on top of final CID ROI in order for a researcher

or higher headquarters to be able to identify the crime investigated by CID quickly and

accurately. Mainly used in criminal intelligence analysis.

Study Population. After obtaining all final ROIs from the CID and reviewing written voluntary

statements made by the subjects/suspects, the author determined the incident location, military

rank, race, and gender of the military offender. There were civilian offenders in the ROIs;

however, they were not analyzed as this data did not support the hypotheses or research

questions of this work. Through the author's experiences, civilian offenders are apprehended

when they try to gain access into the military installation, and their motor vehicles are searched

and Spice is found. In addition, civilians are apprehended when a search of his or her person is

conducted, and Spice is discovered by military law enforcement officers. This unit of analysis

will be accounted for and calculated in the total number of incidents the CID investigated as this

will be correlative for manpower concerns and the overall prevalence of the crime.


Data Collection. The author obtained all ROIs and military police reports (MPRs) from the

Provost Marshal Offices (PMOs) of Forts Bragg, NC and Bliss, TX via written Freedom of

Information Act (FOIA) request from the United States Army Crime Records Center (USACRC)

located in Quantico, VA from January 2011 through December 2012. The USACRC is the

central repository for all Army military law enforcement matters. The CID investigates all felony

level crime and each installation's PMO has a Military Police Investigation (MPI) section that

investigates misdemeanor level crime. Upon receipt of all final ROIs, the author divided the final

reports by military installation, and subsequently began the process of content analysis by data

mining/extracting data from the reports by the unit of analysis (individual military offender

cohort) by gender, race, military rank, offense type (possession/use/distribution of synthetic

cannabinoids), and whether the offense occurred on or off the military installation. This data was

placed and filtered in a Microsoft Office Excel® spreadsheet for ease of manipulation,

documentation, and data storage.

By placing the aforementioned data in a Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet, the author

accurately, efficiently, and effectively recorded data anomalies which decreased the chance of

human error during the "calculation" phase of content analysis which increased reliability and

added validity to the work (Piccoli, Ahmad, & Rami, 2000). Utilizing Microsoft Excel® further

provided the author to quickly compose tables in support of this project (Dougherty, 2005).

Storing and arranging the mined data allowed the author increased statistical likelihood of

answering this work's three hypotheses.

Hypothesis #1: Because of the societal view that synthetic cannabinoid use is conceptualized as

less "illegal" than traditional marijuana use, Soldiers are more likely to use or possess it more

often than other illegal drugs currently available.


Hypothesis#2: Synthetic cannabinoid investigations make up the majority (over 50%) of the

aggregate drug caseload of larger CID offices that results in the need to efficiently target and

control synthetic cannabinoid offenders.

Hypothesis#3: The majority of offenders will be Caucasian, male, and lower ranking (junior)

Soldiers.

Hypothesis #1 was answered by reading the final ROIs' narrative section and determining the

subject's/suspect's motive. A column on the Excel® spreadsheet was added and titled "Used

marijuana before synthetic cannabinoid", and the subsequent data entry responses were "N" for

no, Y" for yes, and "N/M" for not mentioned.

Hypothesis#2 was answered by subtracting the total number of CID drug synthetic cannabinoid

ROIs of the aforementioned installations from the total aggregate caseloads from 2011-2013.

The author estimated synthetic cannabinoid investigations will comprise at least, if not more,

than 50 percent of the total aggregate caseload.

Hypothesis#3 was answered by manipulating and sorting data located in an Excel® spreadsheet

after the columns of race, gender, and rank of the offenders were placed in the spreadsheet,

separated by military installation and subsequently analyzed/illustrated by tables by military

installation.

Operationalization of Key Variables

The variables in this work were quantifiably measured by the actual occurrence of

incidents that occurred both on and off the identified military installations by the appropriate

offense code. The FOIA request submitted by the author requested all the aforementioned

installations CID final reports that contain the keywords "spice," "synthetic cannabinoid," or "fail

to obey general order-synthetic cannabinoid." Offense codes 5Y2B0, 5L2C, 5L2D2, and 5L2F


were the offense codes for such reports as they identified the use, possession, and distribution of

Spice.

Dependent Variables. How often offenders used/possessed synthetic cannabinoids while in the

military; percentage of total drug caseload there was in each local CID office of Forts Bragg and

Bliss.

Independent Variables. Individual offender's ideals, values, past drug history, availability of

synthetic cannabinoids off the military installation, which banned synthetic analog appeared

more often in reports if subject waived rights and confessed.

Assumption and Limitations

The work of Bebarta, Ramirez, and Varney (2012) states "due to the inability to detect

Spice on routine urine drug screens, easy accessibility online and in local stores, and the 'legal

high' it provides, it is appealing to the military communities" (p. 496). This project bridged the

gap of knowledge military law enforcement officials have of Spice and offered an external and

internal evaluation of Spice investigations conducted by the CID.


CHAPTER IV: RESULTS

Fort Bliss (2011)

The Fort Bliss CID office serves a military community composed of the actual military

base, zip code 79916 and the White Sands Missile Range, zip code 88002. In 2011, there were

approximately 32,500 Soldiers, 45,000 service member family members, and 10, 660

Department of the Army civilian employees (U.S. Census, 2012). The Fort Bliss CID office's

area of operation is also comprised of eight counties in west Texas, and the southern region of

the state of New Mexico. There were 442 total drug investigations conducted by the Fort Bliss

CID office in 2011 and two of the 442 investigation were investigated by the MPI section. Even

though the CID now conducts all drug investigations, in 2011 the MPI were empowered to

conduct drug investigations of marijuana only. As of February 16, 2011, CID assumed all

marijuana investigations as illustrated in Table 1.

A review of the ROIs and MPRs from Fort Bliss in 2011 indicated there were 23 opiate,

162 marijuana, 12 dangerous drug, 39 hallucinogens, 127 cocaine, 19 Spice, 54 synthetic

cathinone "bath salt," and four "other" drug investigations (see Table 1).


Table 1. Total Number of Drug Cases by Drug Type

Category ROI MPR TotalOpiates 23 0 23Marijuana 162 0 162Dangerous Drugs 12 0 12Hallucinogens 39 0 39Other (Schedule IV-V) 4 0 4Cocaine 127 0 127Spice 19 0 19Bath Salts 54 2 56

Total 440 2 442

Total Number of Drug Cases by Drug Type (Fort Bliss)

Note. Dangerous drugs encompassed all other category of drugs (i.e. steroids). This applies to subsequent table data the following year as well. A correlative analysis was conducted which correlated the subject of the investigation as

either military or civilian (see Table 2). A review of the reports indicated Fort Bliss had a total of

423 Soldier offenders and 19 civilian offenders.

Table 2. Investigations by Drug Type Committed by Soldiers and Civilians

CiviliansCategory ROI MPR ROI MPR TotalOpiates 21 0 2 0 2Marijuana 154 0 8 0 8Dangerous Drugs 12 0 0 0 0Hallucinogens 39 0 0 0 0Other (Schedule IV-V) 4 0 0 0 0Cocaine 126 0 1 0 1Spice 16 0 3 0 3Bath Salts 49 2 5 0 5

Total 421 2 19 0 19

Investigations by Drug Type Committed by Soldiers and Civilians (Fort Bliss)Soldiers

Note. There were zero MPRs during this time period. This applies to subsequent table data the following year as well.


This data was further broken down by drug type and offender (see Table 3).

Table 3. Military vs Civilian Offender

Category Soldiers CiviliansOpiates 21 2Marijuana 154 8Dangerous Drugs 12 0Hallucinogens 39 0Other (Schedule IV-V) 4 0Cocaine 126 1Spice 16 3Bath Salts 51 5

Total 423 19

Military vs Civilian Offender (Drug Type) (Fort Bliss)

Note. Civilian offenders were not analyzed as a unit of analysis when determining the prevalence of synthetic cannabinoid use and possession in this work. Investigations were analyzed by the military offender's rank and by drug type (see Table

4).


Table 4. Total Military Offenders by Rank and Drug Type

Category E1-E2 E3-E4 E5-E6 E7-E9 W1-W2 W3-W5 O1-O2 O3-O4 O5-O10Opiates 5 9 6 1 0 0 0 0 0Marijuana 47 97 10 0 0 0 0 0 0Dangerosu Drugs 3 4 4 0 1 0 0 0 0Hallucinogens 10 27 2 0 0 0 0 0 0Other (Schedule IV-V) 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0Cocaine 39 69 18 0 0 0 0 0 0Spice 6 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Bath Salts 15 35 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 125 253 42 1 1 0 0 1 0

Total Military Offenders by Rank and Drug Type (Fort Bliss)

Note. E-1 through E-4 are considered junior enlisted Soldiers, W-1 through W-3 are considered junior warrant officers, and O-1 through O-3 are considered junior officers. This applies to subsequent table data the following year as well. Investigations were analyzed by the military offender's age, gender, and by drug type (see

Table 5).

Table 5. Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age

Category 18-20 21-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55 & OverOpiates 1 6 2 4 2 1 0 0 0Marijuana 18 54 43 6 12 3 0 0 0Dangerosu Drugs 1 4 2 3 0 0 0 0 0Hallucinogens 5 23 3 2 0 0 0 0 0Other (Schedule IV-V) 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0Cocaine 18 52 29 9 6 1 3 0 0Spice 5 7 1 0 1 0 0 0 0Bath Salts 8 24 11 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 56 170 93 25 22 5 3 0 0

Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age (Male) (Fort Bliss)



Total 13 15 10 4 3 3 0 0 0

Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age (Female) (Fort Bliss)

Note. Civilian offenders were not accounted for in this study. This applies to subsequent table data the following year as well. In 2011, there were 76 subjects who were identified as recidivists (two or more

incidents); of the 76 recidivists, the most common disciplinary sanction taken was non-judicial

punishment in the form of a "field grade article 15," also referred to as just an "Article 15." An

Article 15 is a form of administrative punishment in which the military offender pleads guilty of

having committed a crime as defined in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (M.C.M., 2012).

With this plea, there is usually a forfeiture in pay for a set time frame, a reduction in rank of at

least one rank, and some form extra duty (hard labor) to be performed after the hours of 5:00

P.M. There were 29 offenders who received non-judicial punishment for their first drug

investigation in 2011 went on to commit a subsequent drug crime within the same year. Of these

29 recidivists who received non-judicial punishment, six offenders went on to commit a third

drug crime in 2011 and again received the sanction of an Article 15. Just two repeat offenders

committed a fourth drug crime and two committed six drug crimes in 2011.

This project identified 10 offenders with three or more offenses; the most common drug

of choice was marijuana, with eight of 10 offenders committing the offense of wrongful use of

marijuana at least once. The second most common drug used was cocaine, with five of the 10


offenders committing the offense of wrongful use of cocaine at least once. Analysis was

conducted in order to determine the drugs of choice found in 2011 Fort Bliss drug ROIs (see

Table 6).

Table 6. Drugs of Choice for Military and Civilian Offenders

Category Use Possession Distribution Manufacture ParaphernaliaOpiates 15 8 0 0 0Marijuana 114 48 1 0 0Dangerous Drugs 11 1 0 0 0Hallucinogens 35 4 1 0 0Other (Scheule IV-V) 2 0 2 0 0Cocaine 118 9 0 0 0Spice 4 15 0 0 0Bath Salts 1 53 0 0 0

Total 300 138 4 0 0

Drugs of Choice for Military and Civilian Offenders (2011) (Fort Bliss)

Note. Use of synthetic cannabinoids was only calculated when an offender confessed to ingesting synthetic cannabinoids as urine testing was not available during this study period. This applies to subsequent table data the following year as well. Hot Spots of Synthetic Cannabinoid Investigations-Fort Bliss. A review of the ROIs from

Fort Bliss initiated in 2011 disclosed problem areas included commercial establishments such as

dance/night clubs, residential neighborhoods (on and off post), and street corners known for drug

trafficking (on and off post). The majority of establishments were located within a 15 miles

radius immediately outside of the exclusive federal jurisdiction of the Fort Bliss military

installation (see Table 7). This study clearly indicates the need for a cooperative/joint focus

paradigm shift in drug investigations around Fort Bliss. Synthetic cannabinoids were just

beginning to make its way into the illegal drug trade in 2011 as evident in the literature review

and in practical analysis conducted of the ROIs.


Table 7. Possible Saturation Patrol and Target Locations

On/Off Post Establishment Miles from PostOff Dream's Cabaret 14.1Off Best Food Mart 2.8Off Foxy's Gentlemen's Club 7.9Off Club 101 7.9Off The Old Plantation Night Club 7.1Off The Black Planet Peal Night Club 7.4Off Peoria Night Club 9.5Off Jaguar's Gentleman's Club 11.8Off Krush Stop 0.8Off Cool Arrows 8.5

Possible Saturation Patrol and Target Locations (Fort Bliss)

Note. Names of these establishments could be currently changed due to criminal activity documented in the files of the CID. This applies to subsequent table data the following year as well.


Fort Bragg (2011)

In 2011, the Fort Bragg military reservation was comprised of approximately 49,756

active duty Soldiers, 3,354 National Guard/Army Reserve Soldiers, 75,629 family members, and

14,125 Department of the Army civilians (U.S. Census, 2012). Fort Bragg is located adjacent

Interstate Highway 95, which is the gateway to major cities such as Washington, D.C. and

Miami, FL. The Fort Bragg CID office's area of responsibility encompasses the entire state of

North Carolina. There were a total of 636 drug related investigations. Of those investigations,

216 were drug related ROIs that reported positive urinalyses not including marijuana; there were

249 ROIs that reported positive urinalyses of marijuana use. The total number of drug related

cases, both MPRs and ROIs by drug type (see Table 8).



Total 570 66 636

Total Number of Drug Cases by Drug Type (Fort Bragg)

A correlative analysis was conducted which correlated the subject of the investigation

identifying them as either a military or civilian offender (see Table 9). A review of the reports

indicated Fort Bragg had a total of 714 Soldier offenders and 31 civilian offenders.



CiviliansCategory ROI MPR ROI MPR TotalOpiates 39 0 3 0 3Marijuana 291 74 18 2 20Dangerous Drugs 22 4 1 0 1Hallucinogens 5 0 1 0 1Other (Schedule IV-V) 12 1 0 0 0Cocaine 215 1 6 0 6Spice 43 0 0 0 0Bath Salts 7 0 0 0 0

Total 634 80 29 2 31

Investigations by Drug Type Committed by Soldiers and Civilians (Fort Bragg)Soldiers

This data was further broken down by drug type (See Table 10).

Table 10. Military vs Civilian Offender (Drug Type)

Category Soldiers CiviliansOpiates 38 3Marijuana 332 20Dangerous Drugs 26 1Hallucinogens 5 1Other (Schedule IV-V) 12 0Cocaine 204 7Spice 38 0Bath Salts 7 0

Total 662 32

Military vs Civilian Offender (Drug Type) (Fort Bragg)

Investigations were further analyzed by the military offender's rank and by drug type (see

Table 11).



Category E1-E2 E3-E4 E5-E6 E7-E9 W1-W2 W3-W5 O1-O2 O3-O4 O5-O10 TotalOpiates 15 12 8 2 0 0 0 1 0 38Marijuana 196 121 12 0 0 0 1 2 0 332Dangerosu Drugs 13 7 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 26Hallucinogens 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5Other (Schedule IV-V) 3 6 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 12Cocaine 105 72 25 0 1 0 0 0 1 204Spice 11 25 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 38Bath Salts 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7

Total 350 246 54 5 1 0 1 4 1 662

Total Military Offenders by Rank and Drug Type (Fort Bragg)

Investigations were analyzed by the military offender's age, gender, and by drug type (see

Table 12).

Table 12. Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age (Male vs Female)


Total 62 315 163 44 15 5 2 2 0

Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age (Male) (Fort Bragg)



Total 7 22 15 5 3 1 0 1 0

Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age (Female) (Fort Bragg)

In 2011, there were 58 Soldier recidivists identified in the ROIs and MPRs received by

the USACRC. Of the 58 recidivists, the most common disciplinary sanction imposed was "no

action taken." There were 12 offenders who received the disciplinary sanction of "no action

taken" for their first drug investigation in 2011 who went on to commit a subsequent drug crime

within the same year. Of the 12 recidivists identified above, only one offender went on to

commit a third drug crime in 2011. Analysis was conducted of the drugs of choice in the same

manner as that of Fort Bliss in 2011. Synthetic cannabinoid investigations were analyzed which

yielded the following results: two use, 30 possession, and two distribution investigations were

found. This is a dramatic difference between Fort Bliss's number of synthetic cannabinoid

investigations. The analysis conducted indicates that synthetic cannabinoid products were

favored by more Soldiers stationed at Fort Bragg than Fort Bliss. Fort Bragg's proximity to

Interstate 95 and its higher population are attributed to the greater number of investigations

conducted by Fort Bragg's CID office.

Hot Spots of Synthetic Cannabinoid Investigations-Fort Bragg. A review of the ROIs and

MPRs from Fort Bragg initiated in 2011 disclosed problem areas included commercial

establishments such as dance/night clubs and smoke shops. A review of the voluntary statements


(confessions) by offenders indicated service members purchased Spice from commercial

establishments. A review of offender statements indicated that civilian drug dealers used these

venues to distribute synthetic cannabinoids as there was a large population of Soldiers who had

steady incomes to purchase illicit drugs. The majority of establishments were located within a 15

miles radius immediately outside of the exclusive federal jurisdiction of the Fort Bragg military

installation (see Table 13). This study clearly indicates the need for a cooperative/joint focus

paradigm shift in drug investigations around Fort Bragg between military and civilian law

enforcement officers. Synthetic cannabinoids were just beginning to make its way into the illegal

drug trade in 2011 as evident in the literature review and in practical analysis conducted of the

ROIs and MPRs.

Table 13. Possible Saturation Patrol and Target Locations

On/Off Post Establishment Miles from PostOff Sparky's Night Club 9Off Big Apple Night Club 6Off The Smoke Shop 6

Possible Saturation Patrol and Target Locations (Fort Bragg)


Fort Bliss (2012)

In 2012, Fort Bliss had 42,500 active duty and Army reserve service member, 45,500

family members, and 10,600 Department of the Army civilians working on the military

installation (U.S. Census, 2013). Content analysis conducted on Fort Bliss's 2012 ROIs indicated

a drastic increase in synthetic cannabinoid investigations from 19 to 127. Fort Bliss's marijuana

investigations decreased from 162 to 155 (see Table 14).



Total 504 0 504

Total Number of Drug Cases by Drug Type (Fort Bliss)

Note. The CID assumed responsibility for all marijuana investigations at this point.

Analysis indicated the main offender for synthetic cannabinoid investigation was the

Soldier offender, not the civilian offender. There were zero investigations of civilians for

possession or distribution of synthetic cannabinoids (see Table 15).



CiviliansCategory ROI MPR ROI MPROpiates 43 0 5 0Marijuana 112 0 56 0Dangerous Drugs 25 0 1 0Hallucinogens 25 0 0 0Other (Schedule IV-V) 3 0 0 0Cocaine 96 0 1 0Spice 125 0 0 0Bath Salts 12 0 0 0

Total 441 0 63 0

Investigations by Drug Type Committed by Soldiers and Civilians (Fort Bliss)Soldiers

Investigations were analyzed by the military offender's rank and by drug type (see

Table 16). While conducting data mining, of particular interest is the fact that Soldiers in the

rank of E-3 and E-4 were the primary offenders in synthetic cannabinoid and marijuana

investigations.



Total 90 306 36 3 1 0 1 2 2

Total Military Offenders by Rank and Drug Type (Fort Bliss)



Table 17).

Table 17. Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age


Total 8 54 162 41 21 3 1 2 2

Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age (Male) (Fort Bliss)


Total 1 2 11 9 7 2 0 0 0

Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age (Female) (Fort Bliss)

The primary drug of choice in 2012 for Soldiers assigned to Fort Bliss was marijuana

followed closely by synthetic cannabinoids and cocaine (see Table 18). There was an increase in

investigations involving the possession of synthetic cannabinoids instead of use. This can be

attributed to the fact that cannabinoid drug testing was not yet available.


Table 18. Drugs of Choice for Military and Civilian Offenders

Category Use Possession Distribution Manufacture ParaphernaliaOpiates 36 9 2 0 0Marijuana 98 51 2 0 0Dangerous Drugs 22 2 2 0 0Hallucinogens 22 3 0 0 0Other (Scheule IV-V) 1 1 1 0 0Cocaine 93 1 4 0 0Spice 8 114 2 0 0Bath Salts 4 3 0 0 0

Drugs of Choice for Military and Civilian Offenders (2011) (Fort Bliss)

Hot Spots of Synthetic Cannabinoid Investigations-Fort Bliss (2012). A review of the ROIs

from Fort Bliss initiated in 2012 disclosed the same problem areas found in 2011 investigations

with night/strip clubs being a target priority and a major gateway to synthetic cannabinoids. The

majority of establishments were located within a 25 miles radius immediately outside of the

exclusive federal jurisdiction of the Fort Bliss military installation. Synthetic cannabinoid

investigations were on the rise in Fort Bliss during in 2012. Dream's Cabaret, Foxy's Gentleman's

Club, Club 101, Jaguar's Gentleman's Club, and Cool Arrows were identified as major "hot

spots" during analysis in 2012.


Fort Bragg (2012)

In 2012, the Fort Bragg military reservation was comprised of approximately 51,275

active duty Soldiers, 4,536 National Guard/Army Reserve Soldiers, 79,624 family members, and

15,160 Department of the Army civilians (U.S. Census, 2013). There were a total of 632 drug

related investigations. Of those investigations, 143 were drug related ROIs that reported positive

urinalyses not including marijuana; there were 303 ROIs that reported positive urinalyses of

marijuana use. These investigations were subsequently analyzed and quantified during the

process of content analysis (see Table 19). Analysis showed that the number of synthetic

cannabinoid investigations nearly tripled in Fort Bragg in 2012 going from only 32 in 2011 to

148 in 2012 with the Soldier being the primary offender.


Category ROI MPROpiates 50 0Marijuana 303 0Dangerous Drugs 16 0Hallucinogens 2 0Other (Schedule IV-V) 10 0Cocaine 102 0Spice 148 0Bath Salts 1 0

Total 632 0

Total Number of Drug Cases by Drug Type (Fort Bragg)

Investigations were further analyzed by the military offender's rank and by drug type (see

Table 20). In 2012, the primary offender of synthetic cannabinoid investigation held the rank of

E-1 through E-4, junior enlisted, which supports analysis of the review of the literature on


synthetic cannabinoids that adolescents and teenagers favor cannabinoids over older offenders

(Bhatty & Wu, 2013).



Total 399 307 32 5 1 0 1 4 1

Total Military Offenders by Rank and Drug Type (Fort Bragg)


Table 21). The Caucasian male was the primary offender.

Table 21. Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age (Male vs Female)


Total 73 338 156 37 15 2 0 1 0

Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age (Male) (Fort Bragg)



Total 8 23 12 3 4 0 0 1 0

Total Military Offenders by Gender and Age (Female) (Fort Bragg)

In 2012, there were 62 Soldier recidivists identified in the ROIs and MPRs received by

the USACRC. Of the 62 recidivists, the most common disciplinary sanction imposed was "no

action taken." There were 21 offenders who received the disciplinary sanction of "no action

taken" for their first drug investigation in 2012 who went on to commit a subsequent drug crime

within the same year. There was only one repeat offender who committed more than three drug

crimes in 2012. Synthetic cannabinoid investigations were analyzed which yielded the following

results: three use, 59 possession, and zero distribution investigations were found. This is a

dramatic difference between Fort Bliss's number of synthetic cannabinoid investigations and of

particular interest, there were no investigations of distribution of synthetic cannabinoids which

adds validity to the review of the literature in that smoke shops primarily distribute synthetic

cannabinoids.

Hot Spots of Synthetic Cannabinoid Investigations-Fort Bragg (2012). A review of the ROIs

from Fort Bragg initiated in 2012 disclosed problem areas included commercial establishments

such as dance/night clubs and smoke shops. This was a common trend found during content

analysis and indicates the need for a collaborative civilian/military law enforcement suppression

effort. Four controlled purchases were conducted by the CID of Fort Bragg on a joint basis with


local law enforcement agencies. A review of voluntary statements indicated service members

primarily purchased synthetic cannabinoids from commercial establishments. The majority of

establishments were located within a 15 miles radius immediately outside of the exclusive

federal jurisdiction of the Fort Bragg military installation. This analysis clearly indicates that the

Fort Bragg CID concentrated efforts to battle synthetic cannabinoid use and possession of Army

service members. Sparky's night club and the Big Apple were the primary commercial

establishments mentioned in offender testimony as in 2011.


CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION

Research Questions. The following are the research questions that were created during the onset

of this project:

1. What percentage of caseload of synthetic cannabinoid investigations make the CID gross

aggregate drug caseload in the larger installation of Forts Bragg and Bliss?

2. What is the rate of recidivism among military offenders?

3. Are the majority of incident occurring off or on the military installation?

4. How much synthetic cannabinoids does the average offender purchase during one transaction?

Answer to Research Question #1

Research question number one was answered during this project In 2011, synthetic

cannabinoid investigations comprised 0.04% of the total drug caseload of the Fort Bliss CID

office and 0.05% of the Fort Bragg office; in 2012, synthetic cannabinoid investigations

comprised 39% of the total drug caseload of the Fort Bliss CID office and 42% of the Fort Bragg

office.


Research question number two was answered during this project. The recidivism rate was

less than 1%.


Research question number three was answered during this project. The majority (96%) of

synthetic cannabinoid reported incidents occurred on the military installation. This can be

attributed to the offense of possession of synthetic cannabinoids as this was investigated more

often than the use and distribution of synthetic cannabinoids as urine testing was not available in

2011 and 2012.



Research question number four was not answered during this project. During content

analysis, the author noted a lack of asking the specific question of "how many packets of Spice

did you buy?" The lack of this specific question resulted in the author not being able to answer

the fourth research question of this project.

Hypotheses

Hypothesis #1: Because of a societal view that synthetic cannabinoid use is conceptualized as

less "illegal" than traditional marijuana use, Soldiers are more likely to use or possess it more

often than other illegal drugs currently available.

Hypothesis number one was answered during this project. Content analysis indicated that

the 18-25 year male Soldier conceptualized synthetic cannabinoids as minimized to their

marijuana counterpart; this was noted during written voluntary statement review and analysis.

Hypothesis#2: Synthetic cannabinoid investigations make up a majority (over 50%) of the

aggregate drug caseload of larger CID offices that result in the need to efficiently target and

control synthetic cannabinoid offenders.

Hypothesis number two was answered during the project. In 2011, synthetic cannabinoid

investigations comprised 0.04% of the total drug caseload of the Fort Bliss CID office and 0.05%

of the Fort Bragg office; in 2012, synthetic cannabinoid investigations comprised 39% of the

total drug caseload of the Fort Bliss CID office and 42% of the Fort Bragg office. Synthetic

cannabinoid investigations increased greatly in 2012; however, marijuana was still the favored

drug of choice for the military drug offender.

Hypothesis#3: The majority of offenders will be Caucasian, male, and lower ranking Soldiers.


Hypothesis number three was answered during this project. Content analysis indicated the

Caucasian male E-1 to E-4 was the primary offender in synthetic cannabinoid investigations.

Conclusion

This work has found common traits and variables amongst synthetic cannabinoid

investigations to effectively target distribution locations near the military installation. This work

clearly established whether a combined civilian/military law enforcement drug suppression effort

is necessary. This work provided an analysis for CID Agents at Forts Bragg and Bliss to develop

and implement changes to investigative policy and tactics in order to take a more proactive rather

than reactive investigatory approach. This work will further establish a "main offender" so that

prevention efforts can be targeted and refined.

This project analyzed reports from the CID offices and PMOs of Forts Bragg and Bliss from

2011 until the end of 2012 in order explore the aspects of caseload, attitude toward, and

demographics of military offenders. Because of a societal view that synthetic cannabinoid use is

conceptualized as less "illegal" than traditional marijuana use, Soldiers are more likely to use or

possess it, synthetic cannabinoid investigations make up a majority (over 50%) of all aggregate

drug caseload of larger CID offices which results in the need to effectively target and control

synthetic cannabinoid offenders and the majority of offenders will be lower ranking Soldiers.

This can be attributed to these offenders not having established families and not having a

prosperous and fruitful military career.

This work has added to the main body of knowledge by answering the following research

questions: what percentage of caseload of synthetic cannabinoid investigations make up of the

CID gross aggregate drug caseload in the larger installation of Forts Bragg and Bliss, what is the

rate of recidivism among military offenders, are the majority of incidents occurring off or on the


military installation, and how much synthetic cannabinoids does the average offender purchase

during one transaction? Much, if not most, of the peer reviewed literature emphasizes the impact

of synthetic cannabinoids in the field of civilian law enforcement; however, there is little to no

peer reviewed published literature on the impact of synthetic cannabinoids on military law

enforcement investigations. The military judicial system in unique in that the unit commander

makes the decision on whether or not to pursue criminal charges against the individual offender,

not an attorney (Bachman, Freedman-Doan, O'Malley, & Johnston, 1999). If a commander is not

fully knowledgeable about this fairly new and complex problem, military law enforcement

officials are not effectively doing their jobs and the risk of recidivism is increased since

offenders may not be terminated from military service due to "minimization" of the illegality of

the substance.

This work has bridged the gap current commanders have as it pertains to synthetic

cannabinoids and their physical and psychological effects on the Soldier (Dodrill, Helmer, &

Kosten, 2011). If the unit commander loses a Soldier, the commander is ultimately loosing

combat effectiveness, which directly impacts a unit's mission. The research questions were

changed as the author was not able to conduct surveys of Army Substance Abuse Program

(ASAP) participants at the aforementioned locations. The theory of content analysis was utilized

during this work as surveys were not conducted; however, there was enough data in the CID's

final reports to data mine related synthetic cannabinoid investigations and answer all hypotheses

and research questions. A study like this has not been conducted on Forts Bragg and Bliss and

the theory of content analysis was validated and replicated in this work.

Drug and alcohol abuse remains a concern to leaders at all levels. Army Substance Abuse

Program (ASAP) data suggest Soldiers are using less traditional street drugs, such as cocaine and


marijuana, in favor of prescription and synthetic drugs due to their availability and limited

urinalysis (UA) testing (Quantock, 2014). The Army continues to develop policy and implement

measures to enhance the surveillance, detection and response to these threats and to improve the

readiness of the Force. Spice and has emerged as a threat in combating drug crime in the Army.

These synthetic drugs composed 21% (2,757 of 13,017 drug-related offenses) of all drug crimes

in FY2013, down from 30% (4,419 of 14,643) in FY2012 and 27% (3,855 of 14,086) in FY2011

but up from 3% (324 of 10,220) in FY2010. Of the two synthetic drug classes, Spice is a

dominant 98% of all offenses (Quantock, 2014).


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Joshua Adams-Thesis

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