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ISCR Case 23-01171 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 23-01171

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

Case Profile
Decision Date11/29/2023
Statusgranted
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Richard A. Cefola
Government Counsel: Adrienne M. Driskill
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 30-year-old individual pursuing both a bachelor's and master's degree in electrical engineering, who had been employed by a defense contractor since January 2023. The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing security concerns under Guideline H, specifically related to drug involvement. The applicant admitted to using Ketamine and psychedelic mushrooms approximately six times each from 2017 until May 2022, primarily at music festivals, and acknowledged purchasing psychedelic mushrooms on two occasions.
During the proceedings, the applicant provided explanations for his past drug use, stating that he had distanced himself from the friends with whom he used drugs and had signed a Statement of Intent to abstain from future drug involvement. He also tested negative in a July 2023 drug screening. The administrative judge found that the applicant's last drug use occurred 19 months prior and was infrequent, which, combined with his demonstrated commitment to abstinence and positive community standing, mitigated the security concerns. Ultimately, the judge ruled in favor of the applicant, granting eligibility for access to classified information based on the totality of circumstances and the whole-person concept.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline HDrug Involvement & Substance Misuse · For Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 23-01171

grantedNov 29, 2023· Hon. Richard A. Cefola· hearing

Summary

A 30-year-old defense contractor was granted a security clearance despite concerns under Guideline H (Drug Involvement). The Statement of Reasons detailed the applicant's admitted use of Ketamine approximately six times between April 2017 and May 2022, with the last use occurring at a music festival. Similarly, he admitted to using psychedelic mushrooms about six times during the same period, also with the last use in May 2022 at a music festival. Additionally, the applicant purchased psychedelic mushrooms twice, with the last instance in 2022 following the death of his pet dog.

Disqualifying conditions under Guideline H were raised, specifically AG ¶ 25 (a) and AG ¶ 25 (c). However, the administrative judge applied mitigating conditions AG ¶ 26 (a) and AG ¶ 26 (b).

The decision to grant the clearance was based on several mitigating factors. The applicant demonstrated a clear effort to distance himself from former friends associated with drug use. He also signed a Statement of Intent to abstain from any future drug involvement and provided a negative drug screening result in July 2023. These actions led the administrative judge to conclude that the security concerns were sufficiently mitigated.

Why the Applicant Prevailed

The applicant distanced himself from former friends associated with drug use.
He signed a Statement of Intent to abstain from future drug involvement.
He tested negative in a July 2023 drug screening.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

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

Mitigating

AG ¶ 26 (a)appliedBehavior Unlikely to Recur
AG ¶ 26 (b)appliedAcknowledgment and Actions Taken to Overcome Drug Involvement

Key Rule Quoted

“Any doubt concerning personnel being considered for national security eligibility will be resolved in favor of the national security.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedJun 13, 2023
Answer filedJul 31, 2023
Hearing heldOct 20, 2023
Decision dateNov 29, 2023

Cite For

Mitigation of Drug Involvement Under Guideline H
Importance of Disassociating From Drug-using Associates
Signing a Statement of Intent as a Mitigating Factor

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: HearingDecided: granted

The judge found that the applicant used ketamine and psychedelic mushrooms about six times each from April 2017 until May 2022, primarily at music festivals. The applicant's last drug use was approximately 19 months ago, and he has taken steps to mitigate concerns by signing a Statement of Intent to avoid future drug involvement and testing negative in July 2023. The decision was granted, indicating that the applicant successfully mitigated the security concerns related to his drug involvement.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant admits using Ketamine about six times from April of 2017 until his last usage in May of 2022, at a music festival.	For Applicant	Ketamine	Experimental	Admitted	—	(a) behavior happened long ago / infrequent / unlikely to recur	Documented Abstinence Period Documented
1.b	Applicant admits using psychedelic mushrooms about six times from April of 2017 until his last usage in May of 2022, at a music festival.	For Applicant	Psilocybin	Experimental	Admitted	—	(a) behavior happened long ago / infrequent / unlikely to recur	Documented Abstinence Period Documented
1.c	Applicant purchased psychedelic mushrooms twice, the last time in 2022, mourning the death of his pet dog.	For Applicant	Prescription Other Misuse	Not Applicable	Admitted	—	—	—

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.