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ISCR Case 23-00237 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 23-00237

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

Case Profile
Decision Date11/17/2023
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Carol G. Ricciardello
Government Counsel: Jeff A. Nagel
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 26-year-old individual who sought a security clearance but faced allegations under Guideline H, concerning drug involvement and substance misuse. The Statement of Reasons (SOR) issued by the Department of Defense outlined concerns regarding her past use of marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms, both of which were illegal substances in her state during the time of use.
The applicant admitted to the allegations in the SOR, detailing her history of marijuana use beginning in high school and continuing through college, with varying frequency until July 2022. She also acknowledged using hallucinogenic mushrooms on four occasions between October 2019 and March 2022. While she expressed a desire to move past her drug use, she did not provide any evidence of actions taken to mitigate her substance misuse or establish a pattern of abstinence, nor did she respond to the Government's evidence presented in the FORM.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that she failed to mitigate the security concerns related to her drug involvement. The judge noted that the applicant's admissions and lack of evidence demonstrating a commitment to abstain from drug use raised doubts about her reliability and trustworthiness, which are critical factors in determining eligibility for access to classified information.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline HDrug Involvement & Substance Misuse · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 23-00237

deniedNov 17, 2023· Hon. Carol G. Ricciardello· hearing

Summary

A 26-year-old defense contractor was denied a security clearance under Guideline H (Drug Involvement) due to concerns about her past substance use. The applicant admitted to using THC with varying frequency from approximately June 2013 until July 2022, and also acknowledged using hallucinogenic mushrooms over several years, with her last reported use of any substance in July 2022.

The Statement of Reasons specifically alleged that the applicant failed to mitigate security concerns related to drug involvement and substance misuse. Disqualifying conditions under Adjudicative Guideline Paragraphs 25(a) and 25(c) were raised.

The denial was based on the judge's finding of insufficient evidence of rehabilitation or a clear intent to abstain from future drug use. This lack of demonstrated mitigation led to doubts regarding the applicant's reliability and trustworthiness, resulting in the denial of her security clearance.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant admitted to using THC and hallucinogenic mushrooms over several years, with her last use in July 2022.
The judge found insufficient evidence of rehabilitation or intent to abstain from future drug use, raising doubts about her reliability and trustworthiness.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 25(a)raisedSubstance Misuse
AG ¶ 25(c)raisedIllegal Possession of a Controlled Substance

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedMar 17, 2023
Answer filedApr 5, 2023
Hearing held—Applicant elected to have her case decided on the written record.
Decision dateNov 17, 2023

Cite For

Insufficient Evidence of Rehabilitation Under Guideline H
Questions About Reliability and Trustworthiness Due to Drug Involvement
Failure to Establish a Pattern of Abstinence From Drug Use

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 failed to mitigate security concerns related to drug involvement and substance misuse. The applicant admitted to using THC from June 2013 until July 2022, which contributed to the denial of her security clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant failed to mitigate the Guideline H, drug involvement and substance misuse security concerns.	Against Applicant	Unspecified Drug Involvement	Unspecified	Admitted	—	—	—
1.b	Applicant used THC with varying frequency from about June 2013 until July 2022.	Against Applicant	Marijuana	Frequent	Admitted	—	—	Claimed Acknowledgment and Remorse

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.