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ISCR Case 24-00606 — CASE

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ISCR Case 24-00606

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

Case Profile
Decision Date6/25/2025
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: LeRoy F. Foreman
Government Counsel: William H. Miller
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 48-year-old creative director who sought a security clearance after submitting a security clearance application on August 25, 2023. The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) on May 23, 2024, citing concerns under Guidelines H (Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse) and E (Personal Conduct). The allegations included the applicant's past marijuana use, cultivation of marijuana plants, and a claim of falsifying his previous security clearance application by denying drug use.
During the proceedings, the applicant admitted to using marijuana from 1995 until at least April 2024, although he claimed to have stopped using it in 2015 and resumed in 2019 due to personal circumstances. He acknowledged cultivating marijuana for personal use related to his wife's medical condition but stated he ceased this activity in October 2024. The applicant denied falsifying his previous application, asserting that he had stopped using marijuana before applying for a clearance in 2016. However, he admitted to still using marijuana at the time of the hearing and expressed an intention to continue its use if he did not receive a clearance.
The administrative judge ruled to deny the applicant's security clearance, concluding that the applicant's recent and frequent marijuana use raised significant concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness. The judge found that the applicant had not established sufficient mitigating conditions to counter the disqualifying factors related to his drug involvement, particularly given his expressed intent to continue using marijuana. While the judge acknowledged the applicant's cessation of cultivation, the overall assessment of his drug use led to the decision against granting the clearance.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline EPersonal Conduct · For Applicant
- Guideline HDrug Involvement & Substance Misuse · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 24-00606

deniedJun 25, 2025· Hon. LeRoy F. Foreman· hearing

Summary

A 48-year-old creative director was denied a security clearance due to concerns under Guideline H (Drug Involvement) and Guideline E (Personal Conduct). The applicant admitted to using marijuana with varying frequency from approximately 1995 until at least April 2024, and cultivating it from about 2021 until at least November 2023. He also stated his intent to continue using marijuana in the future.

While the applicant successfully mitigated an allegation that he falsified his September 2016 security clearance application by answering "No" to a question about illegal drug use, the primary concerns remained. Disqualifying conditions related to personal conduct and drug involvement were raised, specifically regarding his recent and frequent marijuana use and cultivation.

Ultimately, the security clearance was denied because the applicant admitted to ongoing marijuana use and expressed an intent to continue. He did not establish a pattern of abstinence or a commitment to discontinue drug use, which raised concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant admitted to ongoing marijuana use and expressed intent to continue using it in the future.
The applicant's marijuana use was recent and frequent, raising concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness.
The applicant did not establish a pattern of abstinence or commitment to discontinue drug use.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 25(a)raisedSubstance Misuse
AG ¶ 25(c)raisedIllegal Possession of a Controlled Substance
AG ¶ 25(g)raisedIntent to Continue Drug Involvement

Mitigating

AG ¶ 26(a)rejectedBehavior Unlikely to RecurThe applicant's drug use was recent and frequent.
AG ¶ 26(b)rejectedAcknowledgment of Drug InvolvementThe applicant acknowledged his drug involvement but did not intend to terminate it.

Key Rule Quoted

“An applicant has the ultimate burden of demonstrating that it is clearly consistent with the national interest to grant or continue his security clearance.”
— ISCR Case No. 01-20700 at 3 (App. Bd. Dec. 19, 2002)

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedMay 23, 2024
Answer filedJun 13, 2024
Hearing heldMay 28, 2025conducted by video teleconference
Decision dateJun 25, 2025

Cite For

Ongoing Drug Use Concerns Under Guideline H
Mitigating Conditions Related to Drug Involvement
Falsification of Security Clearance Application Allegations

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: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant did not falsify his September 2016 SCA regarding illegal drug use. The allegation was not established, leading to a favorable finding for the applicant on this specific personal conduct concern. However, the overall security clearance was denied based on other factors.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Conduct	Concealed Issue	Response	Disqualifying (¶16)	Mitigating applied (¶17)	Mitigation
2.a	Applicant falsified his September 2016 SCA when he answered 'No' to the question about illegal drug use.	For Applicant	Falsification Security Form	Drug Involvement	Denied	—	—	—

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: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant used marijuana with varying frequency from about 1995 until at least April 2024 and intends to continue this use in the future, which raised concerns under Guideline H. However, the applicant's cultivation of marijuana was found to be mitigated. Ultimately, the application for clearance was denied due to the overall drug involvement.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant used marijuana with varying frequency from about 1995 until at least April 2024.	Against Applicant	Marijuana	Frequent	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse (c) illegal possession, cultivation, manufacture, purchase, sale, or distribution; or paraphernalia (g) expressed intent to continue, or failure to commit to discontinue	—	—
1.b	Applicant intends to continue his marijuana use in the future.	Against Applicant	Stated Intent to Use Again	Not Applicable	Admitted	(g) expressed intent to continue, or failure to commit to discontinue	—	—
1.c	Applicant cultivated marijuana from about 2021 until at least November 2023.	For Applicant	Drug Distribution or Dealing	Not Applicable	Admitted	(c) illegal possession, cultivation, manufacture, purchase, sale, or distribution; or paraphernalia	—	—

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.