Marajuana and CIA / NSA Jobs

[technogeeky]

Hey folks,

My hall-mate is a Comp E major and is interested in a cooperative education job at the CIA or NSA. He has used drugs in the past, but he's clean (he smoked once or twice about 4 years ago).

What is the deal with this type of thing. Does marajuana use really entirely disqualify you from working as CIA or NSA or other Top-Secret clearences.

 

[Jzero]

It does. But if they have no proof that you've done it.....

In other words, if he can pass a drug test and has no prior convictions, he should be fine.

 

[tweakmm]

your hall-mate...
suuuure

 

[brxndxn]

Yea.. if you go around preaching it.. If he hasn't done it in a while, then he'll get by. If he still does it, then he better get good at clearing his system. Every professional workplace administers drug tests now (illegal search, IMO).

Also, a hair test will last much longer in the system. A spinal tap test will last forever - but they're practically illegal. They're dangerous.

 

[technogeeky]

Originally posted by: Jzero
It does. But if they have no proof that you've done it.....

In other words, if he can pass a drug test and has no prior convictions, he should be fine.

Is that question asked during interview? I would assume you should be brutally honest with them, so if they ask, you tell the truth, eh?

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: Jzero
It does. But if they have no proof that you've done it.....

In other words, if he can pass a drug test and has no prior convictions, he should be fine.

Probably bad advice. Nearly any job within the CIA or NSA will require a Top Secret or higher clearance, and he will be required to take a polygraph. He needs to tell the truth in his screening and let them decide if this is disqualifying (as I suspect it is). He will be subject to federal prosecution for lying (and appropriately so - this would be perfect fodder for blackmail later in his career).

 

[StageLeft]

"Have you done weed before?"

"No."

"OK you are clear"

Get the drift...? They may give you a drug test but just say no, and if they "catch you" well then you can just say - or your friend can - that the machine isn't entirely accurate. Most people have done marijuana by the time they reach adult hood at least once.

 

[zippy]

Well, considering our current president used cocaine in his (slightly) younger days and our last president smoked pot (but didn't inhale...) I would think that if he doesn't get the job he can at least flip them all off and run out of the office yelling, "Hyprocrites! You're all hypocrites!" Which, in and of itself, is a rather gratifying experience.

 

[StageLeft]

He will be subject to federal prosecution for lying (and appropriately so - this would be perfect fodder for blackmail later in his career).

Except nobody is going to charge you based on "lying" in a polygraph. Now if you say no and then they later find out real information that you did weed maybe, but polygraphs are not going to be the basis for any charges, although if you really bung it up they would deny clearance.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
"Have you done weed before?"

"No."

"OK you are clear"

Get the drift...? They may give you a drug test but just say no, and if they "catch you" well then you can just say - or your friend can - that the machine isn't entirely accurate. Most people have done marijuana by the time they reach adult hood at least once.

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
"Have you done weed before?"

"No."

"OK you are clear"

Get the drift...? They may give you a drug test but just say no, and if they "catch you" well then you can just say - or your friend can - that the machine isn't entirely accurate. Most people have done marijuana by the time they reach adult hood at least once.

just hope he can pass the polygraph then.

A lot of agencies have the rule that only for marijuana you can have smoked it, but there are limitations. Some of the limitations could be, not in the last 3 or 5 years. not in the last 7 years. never more than 10 times.

It all depends.

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: Don_Vito

Originally posted by: Jzero
It does. But if they have no proof that you've done it.....

In other words, if he can pass a drug test and has no prior convictions, he should be fine.

Probably bad advice. Nearly any job within the CIA or NSA will require a Top Secret or higher clearance, and he will be required to take a polygraph. He needs to tell the truth in his screening and let them decide if this is disqualifying (as I suspect it is). He will be subject to federal prosecution for lying (and appropriately so - this would be perfect fodder for blackmail later in his career).

Dunno. My friend had done plenty in the past, but he had been clean for two years by the time he graduated from college. He had no problem getting top secret clearance. Either they didn't ask, or they didn't care. Now he works for a contractor, and maybe the actual gov't agencies are more stringent. YMMV.

If they don't ask, you don't tell. If they do ask, well, you'll have to decide if you want to lie or not, I guess.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

He will be subject to federal prosecution for lying (and appropriately so - this would be perfect fodder for blackmail later in his career).

Except nobody is going to charge you based on "lying" in a polygraph. Now if you say no and then they later find out real information that you did weed maybe, but polygraphs are not going to be the basis for any charges, although if you really bung it up they would deny clearance.

I think I was not totally clear in what I wrote - I meant to say that he could be prosecuted if evidence that arose later in his career showed that he had lied on his entry into the NSA or CIA.

I have to say I think most of the posters here are being awfully cavalier about what is really a matter of national security. Even if you don't think marijuana use is a big deal, lying on entrance into an intelligence agency can foreseeably lead to the agent's being blackmailed later in his career. To me it is clearly unacceptable to lie in this context.

 

[pyonir]

Read this concerning the CIA http://www.cia.gov/cia/employment/before2.htm

 

[ryzmah]

I had my screening about a month ago - I can't remember if past use is a disqualifier, but current use within the last 2-3 years is for sure. I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't disqualify you - I know that heavy drinking in your past, even if underage, will not disqualify you if you have not done so in the last couple of years and they don't fear you doing so in the future - if they aren't worried about current/future use the only other issue is blackmail, which shouldn't matter if you tell the truth on your forms. If you're talking about an NSA position he'll have to pass both the security background check where they interview people who knew/know you, lived around you, etc. as well as a polygraph and falsification of security forms used for clearance, on which the question appears, is a federal offense and even if they don't prosecute you won't get clearance if you lie.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: pyonir
Read this concerning the CIA http://www.cia.gov/cia/employment/before2.htm

Seems like probably the best thing to do then is to be honest, and if you are a heavy and semi-recent user of drugs you're probably screwed.

 

[Fausto]

FWIW- my wife was offered a job with the US Foreign Service after admitting in the interview that she'd smoked weed years ago. Dunno if that applies to other federal stuff, but just thought I'd throw that out there. Best policy is to be honest; if they catch you in a lie somewhere down the line in the interview process, your ass is outta there.

 

[Krassus]

I don't know about the CIA/NSA, but if you've smoked weed for more than 15 times in your life, you will not be able to get into the FBI unless you can cheat on the polygraph test. I believe that a certain amount of time also has to pass before you can join even if you've only smoked once. I think it's three years, but check their site for more info, they have a very detailed write-up on this there.

 

[Davegod75]

just say you did it in the security forms and that you don't anymore and you'll be fine.


they'll try to get more out of you for sure but if your clean you will be fine.

 

[jteef]

dont lie about it. if he smoked once or twice 4 years ago while in school or something it isn't going to make any difference. If he smoked every day for a month 4 years ago, then there would most likely be a problem. The people who conduct the security investigations are really good at what they do, and there is a reasonable chance that they would find out about it in a TS clearance investigation.

 

[amnesiac]

He should admit to it and they will check for current use but usually the farthest back they can detect use is 2 years, and that's usually only for nicotine. Marijuana gets purged after about 2 months.

 

[Platypus]

They will make you take a polygraph exam, just tell the truth.

 

[Afro000Dude]

You a pothead, Focker??

No, no!! I pass on grass!! All the time!! Well, not all the time...

 

[randal]

Working a DoD contractor job, I can say with affirmation that having done pot is not a big deal. Hell, everybody's smoked a joint. As long as you are up front and okay with it, i.e. nobody could blackmail you with that info, then you're in the green. That goes for damn near anything -- including the waaay out there questions they ask when you go for your TS/SCI (or so I hear).

For just a plain secret clearance, having done drugs is equivalent to drinking. no biggie.

Edit: You don't get a polygraph test until you go for your TS/SCI. Secret is just a background check, drug test and an interview, TS is an indepth background check, maybe less depending on who you know ... TS/Poly and TS/SCI both require a polygraph to be taken, but honestly, that is *way* down the road; getting anything other than a normal Secret clearance usually takes a long time (career progression wise).

randal

 

[phatj]

working for the CIA sounds like a lot of fun... anyway yea I think ur "friend" would be pretty screwed... even if he passes a drug test... BIG BROTHER HAS BEEN WATCHING!! AHHH! LOOK BEHIND YOU! No im just kidding. Peace