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ISCR Case 24-01537 — CASE

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ISCR Case 24-01537

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

Case Profile
Decision Date12/18/2025
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Candace Le'i Garcia
Government Counsel: Brian L. Farrell
Case Summary
The applicant in this case sought a security clearance but faced allegations under Guideline H, concerning drug involvement and substance misuse. The Department of Defense issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) on October 28, 2024, citing the applicant's marijuana use and intent to continue using marijuana, despite its illegal status under federal law.
The applicant, 27 years old, admitted to using marijuana from May 2022 to October 2024 and purchasing it during that period. He claimed to have a prescription for medical marijuana to manage pain and anxiety but acknowledged that this use violated federal law. Although he expressed a willingness to discontinue his marijuana use if required for the clearance process, he did not provide a formal statement of intent to abstain from all drug involvement. The administrative judge noted that the applicant's admissions and ongoing intent to use marijuana raised significant security concerns.
Ultimately, the administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that he did not mitigate the security concerns related to drug involvement and substance misuse. The judge emphasized that the applicant's lack of a clear commitment to abstain from drug use and the recency of his marijuana use left doubts regarding his reliability and trustworthiness, leading to the denial of his eligibility for access to classified information.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline HDrug Involvement & Substance Misuse · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 24-01537

deniedDec 18, 2025· Hon. Candace Le'i Garcia· hearing

Summary

A 27-year-old male applicant was denied a security clearance under Guideline H (Drug Involvement) due to his marijuana use and purchases between May 2022 and October 2024. The Statement of Reasons specifically alleged his use and purchase of marijuana during this period, and that he expressed an intent to continue use despite federal illegality.

The administrative judge found that the applicant's actions raised disqualifying conditions, including AG ¶ 25(a), AG ¶ 25(c), and AG ¶ 25(g). The denial was based on the applicant's admission of recent and frequent marijuana use and purchases, which continued until October 2024.

Crucially, the applicant did not provide a statement of intent to abstain from all drug involvement and substance misuse. Although he acknowledged the federal illegality of his actions and expressed a willingness to discontinue use, this was deemed insufficient to mitigate the security concerns regarding his reliability and trustworthiness.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant admitted to using marijuana from May 2022 to October 2024 and expressed intent to continue its use despite its federal illegality.
He did not provide a statement of intent to abstain from all drug involvement and substance misuse.
The applicant's marijuana use and purchases were recent and frequent, raising questions about his reliability and trustworthiness.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 25(a)appliedSubstance Misuse
AG ¶ 25(c)appliedIllegal Possession of a Controlled Substance
AG ¶ 25(g)appliedExpressed Intent to Continue Drug Involvement

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedOct 28, 2024
Answer filedNov 13, 2024
Hearing held—Applicant elected to have the case decided on the written record.
Decision dateDec 18, 2025Decision delayed due to federal government shutdown.

Cite For

Denial of Security Clearance Due to Recent and Ongoing Drug Involvement Under Guideline H
Failure to Establish a Pattern of Abstinence From Drug Use
Insufficient Evidence of Rehabilitation or Intent to Discontinue Illegal Substance 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 H (Drug Involvement) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: Decision on RecordDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant used and purchased marijuana with varying frequency from May 2022 to October 2024 and expressed intent to continue using it despite its federal illegality. The decision was denied based on these findings, indicating that the applicant's drug involvement was inconsistent with national security interests.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant used marijuana, with varying frequency, from about May 2022 to October 2024.	Against Applicant	Marijuana	Unspecified	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 purchased marijuana, with varying frequency, from about May 2022 to September 2024.	Against Applicant	Marijuana	Unspecified	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.c	Applicant expressed intent to continue to use marijuana in the future despite knowing it is federally illegal.	Against Applicant	Stated Intent to Use Again	Not Applicable	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	—	—

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.