Bilecki Presents Product and Knowledge Defense; Army Drug Case Ends at NJP with Reduction

Bilecki Presents Product and Knowledge Defense; Army Drug Case Ends at NJP with Reduction

September 2023

Grafenwoehr, Germany

Army Specialist – E-4

Allegations: UCMJ Article 92 Wrongful Use of THC-8; UCMJ Article 112a Wrongful Use of THC-9

Facts

This was an Army Specialist at Tower Barracks, Grafenwoehr facing court martial referral on Article 92 wrongful use of THC-8 and Article 112a wrongful use of THC-9. Maximum exposure if the case moved to court martial: years of confinement on the Article 112a specification, federal felony record, and a Dishonorable Discharge.

The Government's case was a single inspection-random urinalysis from late March 2023 that returned positive for both Delta-8 and Delta-9 metabolites. The Navy Drug Testing Laboratory at Jacksonville Naval Station certified the result. The Army Substance Abuse Program notified the unit Military Police; an MP blotter opened the same day; an ASAP / SUDCC referral followed.

Our client retained Bilecki the day the MP blotter opened, before the unit had completed its investigation file.

Bilecki looked beyond the positive result to what our client understood about the product he had used. The defense relied on the Army regulation’s exception for an honest and reasonable lack of knowledge that a product was made or derived from hemp. We presented the product circumstances and our client’s record to the Battalion Commander. Buying a product openly did not make it permissible for a Soldier, and the lab results still had to be addressed. The argument concerned knowledge, not a claim that Delta-8 and Delta-9 could never be distinguished in testing.

We put the AR 600-85 honest-and-reasonable framework, the Delta-8 product line distinction, and our client's record in front of the Battalion Commander before charges were preferred.

The matter resolved at non-judicial punishment.

The Battalion Commander imposed a Field Grade Article 15 in late September 2023. Punishment included a reduction from E-4 to E-2. No court-martial charges were preferred. No federal conviction.

Result: Field Grade Article 15 imposed. Reduction to E-2. No court martial. No federal conviction.

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FAQ

Q: Did the Delta-8 explanation disprove the Delta-9 result?
No. The laboratory reported both metabolites, and suitable confirmatory methods can distinguish them. Bilecki addressed the product and the Soldier’s knowledge of what he had used. The defense did not establish that the reported results were scientifically impossible.

Q: How did the case end?
The Battalion Commander imposed a field-grade Article 15, including reduction from E-4 to E-2. No court-martial charges were preferred. The result avoided a court-martial conviction, but the Soldier still received substantial nonjudicial punishment.