Question regarding drug use/purchases/sales on SF-86

SECURITY CLEARANCE Q&A
1

Section 23.2 asks, “In the last seven (7) years, have you been involved in the illegal purchase, manufacture, cultivation, trafficking, production, transfer, shipping, receiving, handling or sale of any drug or controlled substance?” and then asks to “Provide an estimate of the month and year of first involvement.”

Trying to figure out which reading is correct:

  1. First involvement within the 7-year window (i.e., the date field inherits the scope of the gating question, so conduct outside the window doesn’t go in the date field.)

  2. First involvement ever, even if it predates the 7-year window (i.e., the date field is asking literally what it says regardless of the gating question’s scope.)

The structural argument for reading #1 is that the date field sits under a question explicitly bounded to seven years, and follow-up fields generally inherit the scope of their gating question (same pattern in Section 22, etc.). But the literal text of the field by itself could go either way.

Is there a standard interpretation in practice? Any published OPM/DCSA guidance on it? Thank you.

2

That’s interesting, wonder if that is new wording? Never noticed that.

3

The next part of the question asks the last time you did it, which would be in the 7 year interval.

Other questions on the SF86 are phrased similarly (i.e. first time / last time, where first time could be outside the question duration scope)

4

Agree that is one interpretation of the question, but the sub-question that inherits the parent question asks about “first involvement” with this activity, not “first involvement in the last seven years.” My interpretation is that first involvement would mean disclosing activity beyond the seven year time window.

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