Study: ‘Spice’ Tops List of Illicit Drugs

Soldiers who use illegal drugs are more likely to use “Spice,” or synthetic Marijuana, than anything else, according to the results of a soon-to-be-published study by social workers at the University of Washington. Spice is popular because it is not easily detected by drug tests, the researchers stated in their report, which will appear in the July issue of Addictive Behaviors. Participants in the study all were stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., between 2011 and 2014. A third of the participants said they used illicit drugs within the previous 90 days. Thirty-eight percent of those persons used Spice. Marijuana accounted for less than half of that, the researchers stated. Because the respondents all were taking part in the Defense Department-sponsored Warrior Checkup, their comments are confidential.