The bill points out that 23 states, two territories and the District of Columbia have approved recreational use of marijuana. Image: Amihays/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffA new bipartisan bill in the House would ease restrictions on marijuana use by federal employees, by stating that past or current use could no longer be grounds for finding an individual unsuitable for federal employment or for denying or revoking a security clearance.
“Every year, qualified and dedicated individuals seeking to serve our country are unable to secure federal jobs and security clearances because the federal government has not caught up with the widely established legal use of medical and recreational cannabis,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. Also initially sponsoring the bill is Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., chair of the subcommittee on cybersecurity and IT.
They said that 23 states, two territories and the District of Columbia allow limited use by adults for recreational purposes and 38 states, three territories and the District of Columbia allow the medical use of marijuana. However, for federal employment purposes, marijuana remains classified under Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act, making it potentially disqualifying to become, or remain, a federal employee. The Biden administration last fall ordered a review of that classification.
In 2021, OPM had told agencies not to automatically deem the use or possession of marijuana as disqualifying, saying “the individual’s conduct must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine the impact, if any, to the integrity and the efficiency of the government.”
Early in 2022 the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a policy statement similarly saying that past recreational marijuana use should not by itself be “determinative” to eligibility for granting or continuing a security clearance. Other factors to be considered in an adjudication, it said, include “frequency of use and whether the individual can demonstrate that future use is unlikely to recur.”
The bill also would allow those who had previously been denied a security clearance or a federal job opportunity based on marijuana use the chance to have that denial reviewed.
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