Government clearance and marijuana
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Anonymous
| Considering how many young people smoke weed, what are the implications for them and Federal employment? Will they "fail" the background check and be ineligible? |
Anonymous
| Yes |
Anonymous
| Not anymore. Disclose past use and stop and most people can get a secret with past use. |
Anonymous
| Yes. |
Anonymous
This, if it’s in the past (I’d guess a year or more) and wasn’t habitual. I got a clearance disclosing past use (had been only a few times, 4 years prior), and this was well before any states decriminalized it. I did have to do a follow up interview in person and talk about each instance. |
Anonymous
|
Go read Reddit r/SecurityClearance
Tons of posts on this topic. Seems like current practice is that if you used marijuana within 6 months prior to applying for the job, then its a deal breaker and auto-failure. But if it's been 6+ months since last use, then you can get a clearance as long as you attest you will not use again. It's still federally illegal, regardless of the laws in your state. |
Anonymous
| What about drug testing for fed jobs and marijuana use? |
Anonymous
|
For past use it depends on the agency and the role, but current use is always disqualifying. Law enforcement agencies will have more stringent policies around prior use than many others, for example.
There are nuances, too, such as whether usage involved sales or just being an individual buyer. Frequency and recency are the two primary factors which will be examined and ajudicated. Occasional use in an environment where the culture promoted/accepted use, e.g., college, is viewed differently than use by an adult who could be expected to have more mature judgment about using something which is illegal under federal law. |
Anonymous
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Current use always disqualifies. Prior conviction, either Federal or state courts, for drug use/possession (or worse) often also disqualifies. In some cases, not all cases and no guarantees, disclosure of prior use which was not recent will not disqualify.
PP is correct. Federal law still says marijuana possession or use is illegal, regardless of what state laws might say. For Federal jobs and clearances, state laws are not a shield. |
Anonymous
Many Federal jobs require periodic randomized drug testing. If any drug is found, that will disqualify one immediately. |
Anonymous
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Depends on the job and security clearance. I didn’t have a big top secret security clearance, but I had a background check to be cleared for a position of public trust, and I was honest about past marijuana use. It had been many years since I had any, I don’t remember how many. But I did admit it in my background check materials. But for me, “use” was just a handful of times.
My DH is still at the agency where I worked, and will not touch it because he has background checks every seven years and he will not lie on that paperwork. This may be different for different levels of clearance, but I know at my agency the big deal was that you didn’t want to get caught lying. And drug use was something that they asked everybody that they talked to while doing my background check. And it felt like they talked to everybody I’d ever known. |
Anonymous
This. I disclosed and hadn't been using and I received clearance. (I no longer have it as I moved to a job that did not require it). And marijuana use was far less acceptable 15 years ago when I had clearance. |
Anonymous
How will they know when someone actually stopped using? |
Anonymous
Yes, you are not allowed to continue marijuana as a fed. The OP asked about prior usage. You can be fired if it's found during a random drug test. |
Anonymous
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I wouldn't disclose use something years ago. I'd just answer that I never have. There is zero proof you did.
Though, this will make the nerds and old fogies here lose their sh*t. |