Results for substance abuse

What are the ways a Soldier can enter the Army Substance Abuse Program?

Self-referral, command referral, medical referral, and identification through drug testing or an investigation. Self-referral is the route the Army pushes hardest, because a Soldier who asks for help before there is an incident gets certain protections that a Soldier identified after the fact does not.

What is the purpose of the Army Substance Abuse Program?

To strengthen readiness by preventing alcohol and other drug abuse, identifying Soldiers who need help early, getting them into treatment, and restoring them to duty when they can perform. It is a command program, not a medical program that runs itself.

What is the limited use policy?

It restricts how the Army may use certain protected information a Soldier provides in connection with substance abuse treatment, such as a voluntary self-referral or information developed during treatment. That information generally may not be used against the Soldier in a court-martial or as the basis for a characterization of discharge. It does not protect a Soldier from the consequences of independently discovered misconduct.