Hey . . . The test isn’t likely to show up anywhere that they would look for it on a reinvestigation. But, if he fails to report or lies about it, then he has TWO problems instead of one and, in fact, the dishonesty is worse than the one-time, accidental drug use.
And, it WAS drug use. The source doesn’t matter in the least. That’s the problem all the CBD and other crap. In theory, CBD isn’t supposed to have ANY THC but that’s not usually the case. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying and THC is THC no matter the source. I have little compassion for those who get caught in this way because they just aren’t paying attention to either the clearance or their life.
Now, this isn’t a serious as it was even five years ago. People are being cleared with all sorts of past drug use. Drug use while cleared is more serious but still survivable.
I would recommend self-reporting and here’s why. If they do not self-report, they will be asked about drug use on their next investigation. If they answer truthfully, they will have a problem because they didn’t report it now. If they lie in the future, as noted above, they are committing another, worse, infraction. The odds of getting caught after that are slim but it’s going to be over their head for the rest of their career.
Public Trust is less stringent than some other clearances so their chances of surviving all off this are pretty good.
I hope that helps your friend . . .
Ed