If anybody could help me out I would greatly appreciate it. I’m having a lot of anxiety surrounding the background investigation I just submitted. I’m 23 and a recent graduate. I understand the SF85 is not a security clearance, and the questionnaire I filled out is for a low risk civilian position with the DoD. I’m wondering what I can expect given my situation? I am a new hire and haven’t started my job yet, but I do have a confirmed start date. I didn’t get much explanation on the investigation at all. How long will this take? Am I likely to fail? If so, would I lose my job automatically? I disclosed 3 uses of marijuana approximately 10 months ago, but for a conservative estimate let’s say 9 months. In my explanation I made sure to comment that I have dissociated myself with drug users, plan to abstain from drug use, etc. If I filled out the SF85, this is different from the SF85P for public trust positions, yes? I’m very worried and also just unsure of exactly what’s going on here with the SF85. Also, if addresses change since I submitted the form (current college friends, also just graduated), will I need to update the form and how? So sorry for all the questions, I’m just panicking a little. I don’t want to lose my job right after I was just hired!
Thanks @marko.hakamaa ! The document gave a good overview of the process but didn’t really give me any peace of mind regarding the drug use and what happens if I fail the investigation because of it.
If they gave you a start date and haven’t notified you that they are rescinding the offer, then there is a good chance the drug use will be mitigated. As far a s address changes, the vouchers mailed out to the people you list on the application will get returned to OPM as undeliverable and OP will just close the investigation with that particular item left as pending.
Update: it seems as though there were no issues with the investigation. I never received any details on the investigation, however based on what I’ve heard from my references I believe only my past employers were contacted and asked to fill out a form. I don’t think my personal references were contacted. I have been working my new job for about a month now 
Thanks for the help @marko.hakamaa!
You disclose X number of times between the first date and the last.
I filled out the SF85, not the SF85P, however based on my experience I would say you shouldn’t need to worry too much. I believe when I filled mine out I ended up downplaying it as much as I could while still remaining honest about the drug use. It’s your call on how you want to interpret the number of uses. I disclosed a few separate uses over several months and it turned out okay. I think I added a sentence on how I realized my actions were irresponsible and I had since stopped/dissociated myself with others who smoke, etc. Just explain the situation briefly but honestly. Since then I’ve also completed the SF86, although I think I toned down the “apology/explanation” bit that time. I didn’t hear anything back about the SF85, so I just had to assume everything was fine (and it was). With the SF86 it took months to go through, but I did hear back obviously because I did obtain my secret level clearance.