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ISCR Case 24-01162 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 24-01162

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

Case Profile
Decision Date6/5/2025
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Philip J. Katauskas
Government Counsel: Tara R. Karoian
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 30-year-old researcher who applied for a security clearance on August 14, 2023. The Department of Defense issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) on August 15, 2024, citing concerns under Guideline H regarding drug involvement and substance misuse. The SOR alleged that the applicant had used and purchased marijuana and psilocybin (mushrooms) over several years and indicated an intention to continue using these substances.
The applicant admitted to most of the allegations in the SOR but denied the intention to continue using psilocybin, stating he had not used it since the clearance process began. He acknowledged his past drug use during a personal subject interview and indicated that he resumed marijuana use in 2022 after it became legal in his state. Despite his admissions, he did not provide evidence of a pattern of abstinence or take significant steps to mitigate the concerns raised by his drug use.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that he failed to mitigate the security concerns related to his drug involvement. The judge noted that the applicant's brief period of abstinence was insufficient to demonstrate a commitment to avoiding illegal drug use, and the applicant's ongoing use of controlled substances raised questions about his reliability and trustworthiness. Consequently, the judge denied the applicant's eligibility for access to classified information.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline HDrug Involvement & Substance Misuse · Against Applicant
Similar decisions
Other decisions whose allegations read most like this one. Descriptive similarity of the allegations only — not a prediction.
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 24-01162

deniedJun 5, 2025· Hon. Philip J. Katauskas· hearing

Summary

A 30-year-old researcher's security clearance application was denied under Guideline H (Drug Involvement) due to admitted substance misuse. The Department of Defense cited several allegations, including the applicant's use and purchase of marijuana from approximately 2012 to August 2024, and psilocybin from about 2020 to July 2023. Purchases of psilocybin occurred from approximately 2022 to April 2023.

Disqualifying conditions AG ¶ 25(a) and AG ¶ 25(c) were raised, while mitigating condition AG ¶ 26(b) was applied. However, the applicant's admissions of continued use, as recent as August 2024, and stated intent to continue using both marijuana and psilocybin until directed otherwise by his employer, were central to the denial.

The denial was based on the applicant's failure to demonstrate a pattern of abstinence from federally illegal substances. The applicant did not provide sufficient evidence to mitigate the security concerns related to his drug involvement, leading to the final decision to deny the security clearance.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant admitted to using marijuana and psilocybin, which are illegal under federal law.
The applicant failed to provide evidence of a pattern of abstinence from drug use after admitting to continued use as recently as August 2024.
The applicant's statements indicated an intention to continue using illegal substances until directed otherwise by his employer.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

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

Mitigating

AG ¶ 26(b)rejectedEstablished Pattern of AbstinenceThe applicant did not establish a pattern of abstinence, as his last use of drugs was shortly before the SOR was issued.

Key Rule Quoted

“the clearly consistent standard indicates that security determinations should err, if they must, on the side of denials.”
— Department of the Navy v. Egan, 484 U.S. 518, 531 (1988)

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedAug 15, 2024
Answer filedSep 5, 2024Applicant elected for a decision on the written record.
Hearing held—
Decision dateJun 5, 2025

Cite For

Denial of Security Clearance Due to Drug Involvement Under Guideline H
Failure to Establish a Pattern of Abstinence From Illegal Drug Use
Government's Burden of Proof in Security Clearance Cases

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 against the applicant on all allegations related to drug involvement, specifically marijuana and psilocybin use. The applicant admitted to using these substances and expressed intentions to continue their use, which raised significant security concerns that were not mitigated.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	used marijuana with varying frequency from about 2012 to about August 2024	Against Applicant	MarijuanaWHILE CLEARED	Regular	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse (c) illegal possession, cultivation, manufacture, purchase, sale, or distribution; or paraphernalia	—	—
1.b	purchased marijuana with varying frequency from about 2012 to about July 2024	Against Applicant	MarijuanaWHILE CLEARED	Regular	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse (c) illegal possession, cultivation, manufacture, purchase, sale, or distribution; or paraphernalia	—	—
1.c	used psilocybin (mushrooms) with varying frequency from about 2020 to about July 2023	Against Applicant	PsilocybinWHILE CLEARED	Regular	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse (c) illegal possession, cultivation, manufacture, purchase, sale, or distribution; or paraphernalia	—	—
1.d	purchased psilocybin with varying frequency from about 2022 to about April 2023	Against Applicant	PsilocybinWHILE CLEARED	Regular	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse (c) illegal possession, cultivation, manufacture, purchase, sale, or distribution; or paraphernalia	—	—
1.e	intends to continue to use marijuana in the future	Against Applicant	Stated Intent to Use AgainWHILE CLEARED	Not Applicable	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse (c) illegal possession, cultivation, manufacture, purchase, sale, or distribution; or paraphernalia	—	—
1.f	intends to continue to use psilocybin in the future	Against Applicant	Stated Intent to Use AgainWHILE CLEARED	Not Applicable	Denied	(a) any substance misuse (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.