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ISCR Case 23-00926 — CASE

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ISCR Case 23-00926

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

Case Profile
Decision Date11/27/2023
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Braden M. Murphy
Government Counsel: Karen A. Moreno-Sayles
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 29-year-old individual who submitted a security clearance application on August 20, 2022. The Department of Defense (DOD) issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) on April 27, 2023, citing security concerns under Guideline H, which pertains to drug involvement and substance misuse. The core allegations included the applicant's extensive history of illegal drug use, including marijuana, hallucinogens, cocaine, and prescription medications not prescribed to him.
In his response to the SOR, the applicant admitted to all allegations without providing further explanation. He disclosed a history of marijuana use beginning in high school, with daily use during college, and admitted to using various other illegal drugs. Although he claimed to have ceased marijuana use in June 2020, he initially reported his last use as June 2022, creating a discrepancy. The applicant did not provide any mitigating evidence or respond to the Government's File of Relevant Material, which included his admissions and background interview summary.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that he did not mitigate the security concerns related to his drug involvement. The judge emphasized the importance of compliance with federal law regarding controlled substances and noted that the applicant's admissions raised significant questions about his reliability and trustworthiness. Consequently, the applicant's eligibility for access to classified information was denied.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline HDrug Involvement & Substance Misuse · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 23-00926

deniedNov 27, 2023· Hon. Braden M. Murphy· hearing

Summary

A 29-year-old male applicant with a bachelor's degree was denied a security clearance under Guideline H (Drug Involvement) due to extensive and recent drug use and possession. The applicant admitted to all allegations detailed in the Statement of Reasons, which included a wide variety of illegal drug use disclosed on his Security Clearance Application and in a subsequent background interview.

Specific allegations included marijuana use, experimentation with hallucinogens like LSD, PCP, and psychedelic mushrooms during college, and cocaine use every few months between August 2016 and August 2018. He also admitted to snorting ketamine on one occasion between August and October 2016, and using and purchasing unprescribed Adderall from 2012 to 2019. Further, the applicant cultivated psychedelic mushrooms between August 2013 and October 2016 and both purchased and sold LSD between August 2016 and August 2018 to support his own drug use. His drug involvement was considered recent, ending approximately three years prior to the decision.

The denial was based on the applicant's admitted significant illegal drug use and his failure to provide sufficient mitigating evidence or demonstrate a consistent pattern of abstinence. The judge concluded that the recent and extensive nature of his drug involvement raised serious concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness, ultimately leading to the denial of his security clearance.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant admitted to significant illegal drug use, including marijuana, cocaine, and hallucinogens.
The applicant did not provide mitigating evidence or demonstrate a pattern of abstinence from drug use.
The applicant's drug involvement was recent and extensive, undermining claims of rehabilitation.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 25(a)appliedAny Substance Misuse
AG ¶ 25(c)appliedIllegal Possession of a Controlled Substance

Key Rule Quoted

“The protection of the national security is the paramount consideration.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedApr 27, 2023
Answer filedMay 4, 2023Applicant admitted all allegations.
Hearing heldNov 27, 2023Decision issued.
Decision dateNov 27, 2023

Cite For

Denial of Security Clearance Due to Drug Involvement Under Guideline H
Importance of Providing Mitigating Evidence in Drug-related Cases
Recent Drug Use as a Significant Factor in Security Clearance Decisions

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 had a significant history of illegal drug use, including marijuana, cocaine, LSD, PCP, and psychedelic mushrooms. The applicant's drug involvement was deemed recent, with the last use occurring around June 2022. As a result, the judge ruled against the applicant on all allegations related to drug involvement.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant disclosed marijuana use and a wide variety of other illegal drug use on his SCA and discussed it further in his background interview, months later.	Against Applicant	MarijuanaWHILE CLEARED	Regular	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse	—	—
1.b	Applicant experimented with other drugs during college, including hallucinogens such as LSD, PCP, and psychedelic mushrooms.	Against Applicant	DMT or Other HallucinogenWHILE CLEARED	Frequent	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse	—	—
1.c	He used cocaine at parties, bars, and concerts, every few months between August 2016 and August 2018.	Against Applicant	CocaineWHILE CLEARED	Occasional	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse	—	—
1.d	He snorted ketamine on one occasion, between August and October 2016.	Against Applicant	KetamineWHILE CLEARED	Not Applicable	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse	—	—
1.e	He used and purchased Adderall, a prescription medication that was not prescribed to him, to assist him in concentrating and studying better, between 2012 and 2019.	Against Applicant	Prescription Stimulant MisuseWHILE CLEARED	Regular	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse	—	—
1.f	Applicant cultivated psychedelic mushrooms between August 2013 and October 2016.	Against Applicant	Drug Distribution or DealingWHILE CLEAREDSelf Manufacture or Growing	Not Applicable	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse	—	—
1.g	He both purchased and sold LSD between about August 2016 and August 2018 to support his own drug use.	Against Applicant	Drug Distribution or DealingWHILE CLEAREDRelated Misconduct	Not Applicable	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse	—	—
1.h	Applicant's drug involvement is recent, as, at best, it ended about three years ago.	Against Applicant	Unspecified Drug InvolvementWHILE CLEARED	Unspecified	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.