USSS drug use policy

Hi all,

Hope everyone is staying safe and sane indoors. I have received a conditional offer from the Secret Service in a non-uniformed (analyst) role, for which I need a Top Secret clearance.

I used marijuana frequently in high school and college but stopped in January 2016 and moved cities for a graduate degree. Before 2016, I also experimented (1-2 times) with other illegal drugs: LSD, mushrooms, and cocaine. Bottom line, no drug use whatsoever after January 2016.

I am getting mixed signals on whether I am even eligible for employment under current USSS drug policies. My security clearance paperwork does not mention drug use as automatically making me ineligible for USSS employment; however, forms on the USSS website indicate that cocaine and LSD usage mean I am ineligible. To add on to that, the FAQ on the USSS website mentions nothing about hard drugs in the list of issues that affect eligibility. I have called the security division a few times to ask about the policy, but they have not answered (possibly because of COVID-19 or the long weekend).

I would appreciate any appropriate insight from investigators or federal employees familiar with these policies. If I stand no chance in getting cleared through this agency, I would rather save them the money and time and withdraw my acceptance, as unfortunate as that would be. Thank you very much for reading!

If the form on the USSS website is the current version, then yes, you would be ineligible, unfortunately.

The very last paragraph in that drug policy seems to contradict the whole page…I dunno what to think.

Suitability denial is not clearance denial, so I’d say you really dont have much to lose here. The drug use was a while a go, most places are 3 years clean, which it appears you make. Yeah, dunno on this one.

If this is for a non-uniformed (unarmed) position then it might be OK… maybe. The standards for law enforcement positions where you carry a firearm are much more strict.

From the employment opportunity FAQs

“You can easily determine whether you meet the U.S. Secret Service’s illegal drug policy by answering the following questions.

“1. Have you used marijuana at all within the last three years?
“2. Have you used any illegal drug, including anabolic steroids since attaining the age of 23?
“3. Have you ever been involved in the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, processing or sale of any illegal drug for profit?
“4. Have you ever used an illegal drug (no matter how many times or how long ago) while in a law enforcement of prosecutorial position, or in a position of public trust, or while employed in a position requiring a U.S. Government security clearance?

“If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, you are not eligible for employment with the U.S. Secret Service.”