I read that the general guideline for mitigation for experimental marijuana use is 6 months, but I was hoping to get any input on my situation. From reading posts on both this site and Reddit, it seems like I’d have a better chance at getting a Secret clearance than passing a suitability determination, but do I have a snowball’s chance in hell?
I recently received and accepted a tentative offer for a position at the Department of Treasury. I am 21 and a recent college graduate.
I experimented with marijuana twice in college: once in September 2018 and again in February 2020. I will likely fill out the SF-85P for my new position in June 2020, meaning that my time since most recent use at that point will be 4 months. My uses were in party environments, and I plan to emphasize that I do not intend to ever use again.
I have no other drug use, I have good credit, etc. Do I have a chance, or should I just go back to job hunting?
Who knows. The times, they are a-changin. Used to be, the timeline since last drug use was two years (at least for a security clearance), then one year, lately I’ve seen some reports of people with even more recent drug use get cleared. Maybe the standards are a little less stringent for the various levels of public trust.
The standards vary based on position and adjudicating agency.
Agree with Squirrel…times are a changing. My client demanded no recreational 12 months prior for Secret clearance. Period. From date of signed sf86. 4 months is slim, but you aren’t going for clearance. You can likely make argument you will not be with that crowd as they were college partiers…you are now grown, mature, seeking grown up life, and you are 21. You get a pretty big window of excuse for dumb college stuff. You are well under 24, you were in the experiment zone, etc. I think 4 is slim…but Treasury may have lower bar for SF85. Being honest takes away anyone’s ability to blackmail you.