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ISCR Case 19-00971 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 19-00971

A decided public DOHA case, shown for research — not advice or a prediction.

Case Profile
Decision Date7/19/2019
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Noreen A. Lynch
Government Counsel: Adrienne M. Driskill
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 27-year-old developmental operations engineer who had been granted a security clearance by the Department of Defense (DOD) in 2016. The Statement of Reasons (SOR) issued on April 12, 2019, raised security concerns under Guideline H (Drug Involvement), alleging that the applicant used mushrooms in February 2017 while holding a security clearance and had used marijuana from September 2012 to April 2014. The applicant admitted to both allegations.
In his response, the applicant acknowledged his past marijuana use, describing it as infrequent and experimental during his college years. He admitted to using mushrooms in 2017, attributing the decision to a period of depression following his grandfather's death. He claimed it was a one-time event and stated his intention to abstain from illegal substances in the future. However, he continued to associate with the friend who provided the mushrooms. The administrative judge found that the applicant's drug use raised significant concerns about his reliability and judgment, particularly given that he was entrusted with classified information at the time of the mushroom use.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that he had not mitigated the security concerns related to drug involvement. The judge noted that the applicant's justification for his actions did not alleviate doubts about his trustworthiness and reliability. Consequently, the applicant's request for a security clearance was denied, as it was determined that granting access to classified information was not consistent with national security interests.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline HDrug Involvement & Substance Misuse · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 19-00971

deniedJul 19, 2019· Hon. Noreen A. Lynch· hearing

Summary

A 27-year-old engineer was denied a security clearance under Guideline H (Drug Involvement) due to admitted past drug use. The Statement of Reasons detailed two specific allegations: the applicant used mushrooms in approximately February 2017 while already holding a security clearance, and used marijuana with varying frequency from about September 2012 to April 2014. These actions raised disqualifying conditions under Adjudicative Guidelines paragraphs 25(a) and 25(f).

The administrative judge determined that the applicant's admitted use of illegal drugs while possessing a security clearance created significant concerns regarding reliability and trustworthiness. The applicant's explanation for the drug use, citing depression, was not considered a sufficient mitigating factor to overcome these security concerns.

Furthermore, the judge noted that the applicant's continued association with the individual who supplied the illegal substance demonstrated an insufficient commitment to abstaining from future drug use. Based on these findings, the applicant's security clearance was denied.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant admitted to using illegal drugs while holding a security clearance, which raised significant concerns about reliability and trustworthiness.
The applicant's justification for drug use, citing depression, was not deemed sufficient to mitigate security concerns.
The applicant's continued association with the supplier of the illegal substance indicated a lack of commitment to abstaining from drug use.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 25(a)raisedAny Substance Misuse
AG ¶ 25(f)raisedIllegal Drug Use While Granted Access to Classified Information

Key Rule Quoted

“Any doubt concerning personnel being considered for access to classified information will be resolved in favor of national security.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedApr 12, 2019
Answer filed—Applicant elected to have the case decided on the written record.
Hearing held—Decision based on written record.
Decision dateJul 19, 2019

Cite For

Denial of Security Clearance Due to Drug Involvement Under Guideline H
Insufficient Mitigation of Security Concerns Related to Drug Use
Importance of Reliability and Trustworthiness in Security Clearance Evaluations

Editorial summary generated for research. Not legal advice; not a prediction. Verify against the full decision before relying on any quoted language.

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline H (Drug Involvement) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: Decision on RecordDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant used mushrooms in February 2017 while holding a security clearance and used marijuana on several occasions from September 2012 to April 2014. The applicant admitted to both allegations but failed to mitigate the security concerns related to drug involvement, resulting in a denied clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant used mushrooms in about February 2017, while granted access to classified information.	Against Applicant	PsilocybinWHILE CLEARED	Not Applicable	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse (f) any illegal drug use while holding a clearance or sensitive position	—	—
1.b	Applicant used marijuana, with varying frequency, from about September 2012 to about April 2014.	Against Applicant	Marijuana	Occasional	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse	—	—

Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case (Guideline H). The verbatim source decision is shown in full below.

Full decision

The complete, official text — footnotes and signatures included — is in the original PDF.