Illegal Drug Use – How Long of a Wait is Long Enough Before Applying for a Clearance?

Many on this forum have described their own personal history of illegal drug use and then ask for an opinion on how long they have to wait to have a chance at getting granted a security clearance. No one can answer that with certainty as many factors are involved and each situation is reviewed on its own merits. Click here to read the whole article…

Many years ago I met a guy who had been doing background investigations. He said when he started, the question was “have you ever used drugs?” and any positive response led to an almost certain DQ.

He said toward the end of his time doing BI’s the question was more like “have you used drugs recently?” and the end result might be a disqualification but more likely not.

He wondered if soon that question would become, “are you high right now?”

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It is only a matter of time before marijuana is treated the same as alcohol.

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Sadly, you might be surprised how some Subjects show up to their interviews. I had a young Subject try to convince me that his two or three DUIs (all underage) were the only time he had ever consumed alcohol. Meanwhile, approximately every 30 - 40 minutes he had to take a break during the interview and would return to the interview smelling of alcohol.

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