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ISCR Case 23-00312 — CASE

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ISCR Case 23-00312

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

Case Profile
Decision Date1/30/2024
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 41-year-old individual who had held a top secret security clearance since 2006 while working for a federal contractor. The Department of Defense issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing security concerns under Guideline H, which pertains to drug involvement and substance misuse. The core allegations included the applicant's illegal use of marijuana from 2011 to November 2022 and her expressed intent to continue using marijuana products, despite being aware of the legal implications under federal law.
The applicant admitted to using marijuana and marijuana gummies to cope with stress and anxiety, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. She acknowledged her past drug use in her security clearance applications but denied any illegal use during work hours. Although she initially believed her marijuana use was legal under state law, she later recognized it was illegal federally and stated her intention to stop using marijuana. However, she did not provide any evidence of actions taken to mitigate her substance misuse or establish a pattern of abstinence.
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 her intent to continue using marijuana while holding a security clearance raised significant doubts about her reliability and trustworthiness, ultimately leading to the denial of her eligibility for access to classified information.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline HDrug Involvement & Substance Misuse · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 23-00312

deniedJan 30, 2024· Hon. Carol G. Ricciardello· hearing

Summary

A 41-year-old federal contractor was denied a security clearance under Guideline H (Drug Involvement) due to ongoing substance misuse and a stated intent to continue using marijuana. The applicant admitted to illegal marijuana use from 2011 through November 2022, a period during which she held a security clearance.

Further concerns arose from her failure to disclose this illegal drug use on her 2018 Security Clearance Application (SCA). Despite acknowledging the federal illegality of marijuana, she expressed a clear intent to continue using both marijuana gummies and smoked marijuana.

The judge concluded that the applicant's conduct, particularly her admitted and intended ongoing drug use, did not meet the reliability and trustworthiness standards required for national security eligibility. Disqualifying conditions under Adjudicative Guidelines (AG) ¶ 24, ¶ 25(a), ¶ 25(f), and ¶ 25(g) were raised, with AG ¶ 26(b) applied as a mitigating condition, but ultimately, the clearance was denied.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant admitted to illegal marijuana use from 2011 to November 2022 while holding a security clearance.
She expressed intent to continue using marijuana despite acknowledging its illegality under federal law.
Her drug use raised significant concerns about her reliability and trustworthiness.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 24raisedDrug Involvement and Substance Misuse
AG ¶ 25(a)raisedAny Substance Misuse
AG ¶ 25(f)raisedIllegal Drug Use While Granted Access to Classified Information
AG ¶ 25(g)raisedExpressed Intent to Continue Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse

Mitigating

AG ¶ 26(b)rejectedAcknowledgment of Drug Involvement and Intent to AbstainThe applicant's recent acknowledgment of drug use was insufficient to mitigate concerns due to her expressed intent to continue using marijuana.

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 issuedApr 28, 2023
Answer filedMay 19, 2023
Decision dateJan 30, 2024

Cite For

Denial of Security Clearance Due to Ongoing Drug Involvement Under Guideline H
Impact of Expressed Intent to Continue Illegal Drug Use on Security Clearance Eligibility
Failure to Mitigate Drug Use Concerns Despite Acknowledgment of Past Behavior

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 illegally used marijuana from 2011 through November 2022 and expressed intent to continue using marijuana. Additionally, the applicant failed to disclose her illegal drug use on her 2018 Security Clearance Application (SCA). The decision was denied due to the applicant's ongoing drug use and lack of sufficient abstinence, which raised concerns about her reliability and judgment.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant illegally used marijuana from 2011 through November 2022.	Against Applicant	MarijuanaWHILE CLEARED	Regular	Admitted	—	—	—
1.b	Applicant expressed intent to continue using marijuana gummies and smoking marijuana.	Against Applicant	Stated Intent to Use AgainWHILE CLEARED	Not Applicable	Admitted	—	—	—
1.c	Applicant failed to disclose her illegal drug use on her 2018 SCA.	Against Applicant	Unspecified Drug InvolvementWHILE CLEARED	Not Applicable	Denied	—	—	—

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.