Drug History and TS Security Clearance

SECURITY CLEARANCE Q&A
1

Hey all. I’m a college grad with a great academic record, steady internships, and two years of drug-free behavior under my belt. But I didn’t come here because I’m squeaky clean.

I came asking because I’ve done some stupid things in my day, including: 1) MJ use on a frequent-regular basis 2) psychedelic use over 4 year period- twice mushrooms and twice LSD 3) twice shipping MJ for my own consumption. Never sold. Never an overlap between government internships and MJ use.

Reading these forums, it looks like my clearance process will be fraught with complications. I’d just like to gauge whether you think my chances are great at making it into an intelligence spot. Any advice on how to mitigate these circumstances now and going forward is appreciated.

2

I always used to say two years drug free was the minimum, and in a case like this I’d say it still is.

You’re on the right track in terms of staying away from drug use. It might help to show that you have different life circumstances now, that is, you’re working a regular job, you got away from the college lifestyle, and no longer put yourself in situations where people are using drugs.

However, I’m not clear on the apparent drug use after internships. That may be a concern. Also no idea on how the sending-pot-throgh-the-mail bit would be viewed.