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ISCR Case 22-02421 — CASE

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ISCR Case 22-02421

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

Case Profile
Decision Date5/1/2024
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Carol G. Ricciardello
Government Counsel: Erin P. Thompson
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 42-year-old individual employed by a federal contractor since August 2021, seeking a security clearance. The Department of Defense issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing concerns under Guideline H (drug involvement and substance misuse) and Guideline E (personal conduct). The core allegations included the applicant's positive drug tests for marijuana while holding a security clearance and failure to disclose this drug use on his security clearance application.
The applicant admitted to using marijuana twice a week for three to four months in 2019 and acknowledged his positive drug tests in 2016 and 2019. He claimed that his 2016 positive test was due to unknowingly consuming marijuana-laced drinks provided by his wife, who is a legal user in their state. Despite his admissions, he contended that he misunderstood the questions on the security clearance application regarding drug use and did not intend to falsify information. He asserted that he had not used marijuana since September 2019 and had sought alternative pain management methods.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that he failed to mitigate the security concerns related to drug involvement and personal conduct. The judge emphasized the importance of trust and confidence in individuals granted access to classified information and noted that the applicant's history of drug use, particularly while holding a security clearance, raised significant concerns about his reliability and judgment. The judge ultimately denied the applicant's eligibility for access to classified information.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline EPersonal Conduct · Against Applicant
- Guideline HDrug Involvement & Substance Misuse · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 22-02421

deniedMay 1, 2024· Hon. Carol G. Ricciardello· hearing

Summary

A 42-year-old male applicant with a military background was denied a security clearance due to concerns under Guideline H (Drug Involvement) and Guideline E (Personal Conduct). The Statement of Reasons detailed that the applicant used marijuana twice a week for three to four months in 2019 while holding a security clearance. Additionally, he tested positive for marijuana during a random urinalysis test while holding a security clearance and failed to disclose his drug use on his July 2022 security clearance application.

The judge determined that the applicant's admitted marijuana use while holding a clearance raised significant concerns regarding his reliability and trustworthiness. Furthermore, the judge found the applicant's explanations for failing to disclose his drug use on the application to be not credible, indicating a lack of candor.

The denial was also based on the applicant's failure to provide evidence of rehabilitation or steps taken to mitigate the issues related to his drug involvement and personal conduct. Disqualifying conditions under Adjudicative Guidelines Paragraphs 15 and 24 were raised, ultimately leading to the denial of his security clearance.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant admitted to using marijuana while holding a security clearance, which raised significant concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness.
The judge found the applicant's explanations for his omissions on the security clearance application to be not credible, indicating a lack of candor.
The applicant failed to provide evidence of rehabilitation or steps taken to mitigate his drug involvement and personal conduct issues.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 24raisedDrug Involvement and Substance Misuse
AG ¶ 15raisedPersonal Conduct

Key Rule Quoted

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

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedMay 25, 2023
Answer filedJul 10, 2023Applicant elected to have the case decided on the written record.
Hearing held—No hearing; decision made on the written record.
Decision dateMay 1, 2024

Cite For

Failure to Mitigate Drug Involvement Under Guideline H
Lack of Candor in Security Clearance Application Under Guideline E
Credibility Issues Regarding Applicant's Explanations for 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 E (Personal Conduct) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: Decision on RecordDecided: denied

The judge found against the applicant on the personal conduct concerns under Guideline E, specifically for failing to disclose drug use on his security clearance application. The applicant's explanations were not deemed credible, leading to a denial of his clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Conduct	Concealed Issue	Response	Disqualifying (¶16)	Mitigating applied (¶17)	Mitigation
2.a	Applicant failed to disclose his drug use on his July 2022 security clearance application.	Against Applicant	Omission or Failure to DiscloseFOUND DELIBERATE	Drug Involvement	Admitted	—	—	—
2.b–2.c	2 sub-charges — specific text not stated in this decision (against the applicant). (low confidence)	Against Applicant		—		—	—	—

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

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 marijuana twice a week for three to four months in 2019 while holding a security clearance and tested positive for marijuana during a random urinalysis. The applicant's conduct was deemed to have failed to mitigate security concerns under Guideline H, leading to a denial of the application.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	specific text not stated in this decision	Against Applicant	Unspecified Drug Involvement	Unspecified	Unknown	—	—	—
1.b	Applicant used marijuana twice a week for three to four months in 2019 while holding a security clearance.	Against Applicant	MarijuanaWHILE CLEARED	Frequent	Admitted	—	—	Claimed Acknowledgment and Remorse
1.c	Applicant tested positive for marijuana during a random urinalysis test while holding a security clearance.	Against Applicant	Drug Test FailureWHILE CLEARED	Not Applicable	Admitted	—	—	—
1.d	specific text not stated in this decision	Against Applicant	Unspecified Drug Involvement	Unspecified	Unknown	—	—	—

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.