Commissioning in the Marine Corps as an officer soon. When I contracted, I had told my recruiter that I had not used any drugs in the past. Now, I am looking at different MOS options and would like intel and will need TSCI. Planning on coming clean if that is the route I pursue, but I was wondering what the repercussions would be for lying to my initial recruiter that I had not used drugs. My drug use includes marijuana / delta 9 use about 10-15 times total very sporadically from about 2017 to 2022. I had used Adderall that was not prescribed to me for some high stakes exams 4 times from 2020-2025. I have used cocaine about 5 times from about 2018-2022. I looked at the SF86 form and noticed they are very specific about being within the past 7 years. 8-9 years ago, I had tried acid and shrooms about 3-4 times each but last used in 2017. Xanax about 15 times last in 2017. Ketamine about 5 times last in 2018. My question was mainly focused on what will happen in terms of my status in the Marine Corps if I tell the truth about my past drug use during the interview and on the SF86? I have seen stuff about people getting discharged for fraudulent enlistment and obviously don’t want that, and if that is what would happen, I would pursue a different MOS that does not require TSCI. Also, will they ask about drug use before 7 years ago? Any advice on this would be appreciated; I wish I had come clean at the start. Thanks.
ugghhh! Well I’m no expert but will relate what I’ve read in the past on here. That is a big no-no with the military, and more so for Marines (zero tolerance). Never mind the clearance. This could cost not only your commission but your career. Will investigators be able to uncover this stuff on you (they usually do)? If so, maybe you can self-report before you apply for a clearance and possibly avoid all those potential penalties by doing rehab or whatever they recommend. Again, I don’t really know how they would react.
On another note, that is a significant pattern there. You may want to do a frank self-eval of your life-style and habits before you consider cleared work. Cleared workers are held to an unfair high standard. We are expected to be squeaky clean. If you don’t think you can cut out all drug use AND any bad influences leading to it, this may not be the best path for you right now. Maybe give yourself some time to mitigate and work through it. Wishing you good luck.