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ISCR 23-01809: Guideline H security clearance hearing, granted (2024) · CASE

ISCR Case 23-01809granted

Case headnote

ISCR Case No. 23-01809

grantedMay 10, 2024· Hon. Richard A. Cefola· hearing

Summary

The applicant, a 41-year-old defense contractor and former Army National Guard member, faced security concerns under Guideline H due to past drug involvement, specifically the use of cannabis oil. The applicant denied the allegations, provided evidence of rehabilitation, including a negative drug test in February 2024, and demonstrated that the drug use occurred over three years prior. The administrative judge found that the applicant mitigated the security concerns, resulting in a favorable decision for security clearance.

Under Guideline H (Drug Involvement), the Statement of Reasons alleged the following: Applicant used cannabis oil as a sleep aid after returning from deployment (1.a). Applicant used medical marijuana from April 2020 until March 2021 as a sleep aid (1.b). As a result, in February of 2021, Applicant tested positive for marijuana on a urinalysis test (1.c).

The judge granted the clearance. The government raised disqualifying conditions AG ¶ 25(a), AG ¶ 25(b), AG ¶ 25(c). The judge applied mitigating conditions AG ¶ 26(a), AG ¶ 26(b). The decision turned on the following: The applicant demonstrated a pattern of abstinence from drug use, including a negative drug test in February 2024; The applicant's drug involvement occurred more than three years ago, reducing concerns about current reliability; The applicant acknowledged past drug use and provided evidence of rehabilitation efforts.

Why the applicant prevailed

The applicant demonstrated a pattern of abstinence from drug use, including a negative drug test in February 2024.
The applicant's drug involvement occurred more than three years ago, reducing concerns about current reliability.
The applicant acknowledged past drug use and provided evidence of rehabilitation efforts.

Conditions referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 25(a)raisedSubstance Misuse
AG ¶ 25(b)raisedTesting Positive for Illegal Drug
AG ¶ 25(c)raisedIllegal Possession of a Controlled Substance

Mitigating

AG ¶ 26(a)appliedBehavior Unlikely to Recur
AG ¶ 26(b)appliedAcknowledgment and Evidence of Rehabilitation

Key rule quoted

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

Procedural posture

SOR issuedOct 23, 2023
Answer filedNov 20, 2023
Hearing heldFeb 7, 2024
Decision dateMay 10, 2024

Cite for

Mitigation of Drug Involvement Under Guideline H
Consideration of the Whole-person Concept in Security Clearance Decisions
Evidence of Rehabilitation and Abstinence as Mitigating Factors

Editorial summary generated for research. Not legal advice; not a prediction. Verify against the full decision before relying on any quoted language.

From the decision

Facts this decision states, each with the exact sentence it comes from. Descriptive of the record, not an assessment.

Age at decision: 41: “Applicant is 41 years old, married, and has no children.”

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 cannabis oil as a sleep aid after returning from deployment and tested positive for marijuana in February 2021. However, the applicant tested negative in February 2024, and the judge concluded that the applicant's past drug use was sufficiently mitigated, resulting in a decision to grant the applicant national security eligibility for a security clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation

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

Full decision

The complete, official text, footnotes and signatures included, is in the original PDF.

Decision text, by section

DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS

HEARING

APPEARANCES

______________ ______________ DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS In the matter of: ) ) ) ISCR Case No. 23-01809 ) ) Applicant for Security Clearance ) Appearances For Government: Jeff Nagel, Esquire, Department Counsel For Applicant: Thomas D. Farell, Esquire, Applicant’s Counsel 05/10/2024

STATEMENT OF CASE

CEFOLA, Richard A., Administrative Judge: On July 12, 2022, Applicant submitted his Electronic Questionnaire for Investigations Processing (e-QIP). On October 23, 2023, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency Consolidated Adjudication Services (DCSA CAS) issued Applicant a Statement of Reasons (SOR) detailing security concerns under Guideline H (Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse). The action was taken under Executive Order 10865, Safeguarding Classified Information within Industry (February 20, 1960), as amended; Department of Defense Directive 5220.6, Defense Industrial Personnel Security Clearance Review Program (January 2, 1992), as amended (Directive); and the Adjudicative Guidelines effective June 8, 2017. Applicant answered the SOR in writing (Answer) on November 20, 2023, and requested a hearing before an administrative judge. The Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) received the request soon thereafter. I received the case assignment on January 4, 2024. DOHA issued a Notice of Hearing on January 12, 2024, and I convened the hearing as scheduled on February 7, 2024. The Government offered Exhibits (GXs) 1 and 2, which were received into evidence without objection.

Applicant testified and submitted Exhibit (AppX) A, which was received into evidence without objection. He also asked that the record be kept open until March 7, 2024, for the receipt of additional documentation. On March 7, 2024, Applicant also submitted AppXs B through D, which were received into evidence without objection. DOHA received the transcript of the hearing (TR) on February 16, 2024. Based upon a review of the pleadings, exhibits, and testimony, eligibility for access to classified information is granted.

FINDINGS OF FACT

In his Answer to the SOR Applicant denied the factual allegations in Paragraph 1 of the SOR, with explanations He also provided additional information to support his request for eligibility for a security clearance. Applicant is 41 years old, married, and has no children. (GX 1 at pages 5, 14, 21 and 23.) He served in the Army National Guard from March 2009 to March 2021, a period of 12 years. (GX 1 at page 14.) Applicant was deployed to a combat zone from April 2019 to April 2020. (Answer pages 7 and 8.) He works for a defense contractor. (GX 1 at page 13.) Guideline H – Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse 1.a.~1.c. Upon his return from deployment in Afghanistan in April of 2020, Applicant had difficulties sleeping. As a result, he began using cannabis oil as a sleep aid. His state can confirm this going back to September of 2020; however due to technical difficulties, Applicant’s state is unable to provide the “previous purchase record,” which Applicant claims. (AppXs B~D.) Applicant used medical marijuana from April 2020 until March 2021 as a sleep aid. He also purchased cannabis oil with varying frequency during this 12-month period. As a result, in February of 2021, Applicant tested positive for marijuana on a urinalysis test. (TR at page 20 line 1 to page 28 line 2, and page 29 line 19 to page 43 line 19.) Most recently, in February 2024, Applicant tested negative for drug usage. (AppX A.)

POLICIES

When evaluating an applicant’s suitability for a security clearance, the administrative judge must consider the adjudicative guidelines (AG). In addition to brief introductory explanations for each guideline, the adjudicative guidelines list potentially disqualifying conditions and mitigating conditions, which are useful in evaluating an applicant’s eligibility for access to classified information. These guidelines are not inflexible rules of law. Instead, recognizing the complexities of human behavior, administrative judges apply the guidelines in conjunction with the factors listed in AG ¶ 2 describing the adjudicative process. The administrative judge’s overarching adjudicative goal is a fair, impartial, and

commonsense decision. According to AG ¶ 2(a), the entire process is a conscientious scrutiny of a number of variables known as the whole-person concept. The administrative judge must consider all available, reliable information about the person, past and present, favorable and unfavorable, in making a decision. The protection of the national security is the paramount consideration. AG ¶ 2(b) requires that “[a]ny doubt concerning personnel being considered for national security eligibility will be resolved in favor of the national security.” In reaching this decision, I have drawn only those conclusions that are reasonable, logical and based on the evidence contained in the record. Likewise, I have avoided drawing inferences grounded on mere speculation or conjecture. Under Directive ¶ E3.1.14, the Government must present evidence to establish controverted facts alleged in the SOR. Under Directive ¶ E3.1.15, an “applicant is responsible for presenting witnesses and other evidence to rebut, explain, extenuate, or mitigate facts admitted by the applicant or proven by Department Counsel, and has the ultimate burden of persuasion as to obtaining a favorable clearance decision.” A person who seeks access to classified information enters into a fiduciary relationship with the Government predicated upon trust and confidence. This relationship transcends normal duty hours and endures throughout off-duty hours. The Government reposes a high degree of trust and confidence in individuals to whom it grants access to classified information. Decisions include, by necessity, consideration of the possible risk the applicant may deliberately or inadvertently fail to protect or safeguard classified information. Such decisions entail a certain degree of legally permissible extrapolation as to potential, rather than actual, risk of compromise of classified information. Section 7 of Executive Order 10865 provides that decisions shall be “in terms of the national interest and shall in no sense be a determination as to the loyalty of the applicant concerned.” See also EO 12968, Section 3.1(b) (listing multiple prerequisites for access to classified or sensitive information).

ANALYSIS

Guideline H - Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse The security concern relating to the guideline for Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse is set forth at AG ¶ 24: The illegal use of controlled substances, to include the misuse of prescription and non-prescription drugs, and the use of other substances that cause physical or mental impairment or are used in a manner inconsistent with their intended purpose can raise questions about an individual's reliability and trustworthiness, both because such behavior may lead to physical or psychological impairment and because it raises

questions about a person's ability or willingness to comply with laws, rules, and regulations. Controlled substance means any "controlled substance" as defined in 21 U.S.C. 802. Substance misuse is the generic term adopted in this guideline to describe any of the behaviors listed above. The guideline at AG ¶ 25 contains seven conditions that could raise a security concern and may be disqualifying. Three conditions are established: (a) any substance misuse (see above definition); (b) testing positive for illegal drug; and (c) illegal possession of a controlled substance, including cultivation, processing, manufacture, purchase, sale, or distribution; or possession of drug paraphernalia. Appellant used and purchased cannabis oil from April 2020 to March 2021.He also tested positive for its usage in February 2021. Therefore, AG ¶ 25 (a), (b) and (c) are established. The guideline at AG ¶ 26 contains four conditions that could mitigate security concerns. Two conditions may be applicable: (a) the behavior happened so long ago, was so infrequent, or happened under such circumstances that it is unlikely to recur or does not cast doubt on the individual's current reliability, trustworthiness, or good judgment; and (b) the individual acknowledges his or her drug involvement and substance misuse, provides evidence of actions taken to overcome this problem, and has established a pattern of abstinence, including, but not limited to: (1) disassociation from drug-using associates and contacts; (2) changing or avoiding the environment where drugs were used; and (3) providing a signed statement of intent to abstain from all drug involvement and substance misuse, acknowledging that any future involvement or misuse is grounds for revocation of national security eligibility. Applicant’s use of a marijuana-based drug occurred more than three years ago. Although he did not submit a signed statement of intent to abstain from all drug

_________________ involvement and substance misuse, he stated so on the record. Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse is found for Applicant.

WHOLE PERSON CONCEPT

Under the whole-person concept, the administrative judge must evaluate an applicant’s eligibility for a security clearance by considering the totality of an applicant’s conduct and all the circumstances. The administrative judge should consider the nine adjudicative process factors listed at AG ¶ 2(d): (1) the nature, extent, and seriousness of the conduct; (2) the circumstances surrounding the conduct, to include knowledgeable participation; (3) the frequency and recency of the conduct; (4) the individual’s age and maturity at the time of the conduct; (5) the extent to which participation is voluntary; (6) the presence or absence of rehabilitation and other permanent behavioral changes; (7) the motivation for the conduct; (8) the potential for pressure, coercion, exploitation, or duress; and (9) the likelihood of continuation or recurrence. AG ¶ 2(b) requires each case must be judged on its own merits. Under AG ¶ 2(c), the ultimate determination of whether to grant eligibility for a security clearance must be an overall commonsense judgment based upon careful consideration of the guidelines and the whole person concept. Overall, the record evidence leaves me without questions or doubts as to Applicant’s eligibility and suitability for a security clearance. For all these reasons, I conclude Applicant mitigated the security concerns arising from his drug involvement and substance abuse.

FORMAL FINDINGS

Formal findings for or against Applicant on the allegations set forth in the SOR, as required by ¶ E3.1.25 of Enclosure 3 of the Directive, are: Paragraph 1, Guideline H: FOR APPLICANT Subparagraphs 1.a~1.c: For Applicant

CONCLUSION

In light of all of the circumstances presented by the record in this case, it is clearly consistent with the national interest to grant Applicant national security eligibility for a security clearance. Eligibility for access to classified information is granted. Richard A. Cefola Administrative Judge