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ISCR Case 24-02308 — CASE

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ISCR Case 24-02308

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

Case Profile
Decision Date3/4/2026
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Roger C. Wesley
Government Counsel: Cassie L. Ford
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 23-year-old employee of a defense contractor seeking a security clearance. The Department of Defense issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing concerns under the drug involvement and substance misuse guideline, specifically alleging that the applicant used and purchased marijuana from October 2022 to December 2024. The applicant admitted to these allegations but provided explanations, claiming he ceased all illegal drug use and attributed his past behavior to emotional distress following his mother's death.
During the hearing, the applicant acknowledged his past marijuana use and purchases but asserted that he had stopped using marijuana entirely by December 2024. He presented himself as committed to remaining drug-free, supported by negative drug test results from April 2025. However, the administrative judge noted several mitigating factors, including the applicant's age and the emotional context of his previous drug use. Despite this, the judge found that the applicant had not sufficiently mitigated the security concerns related to his drug involvement, particularly due to his prior admissions of uncertainty about maintaining abstinence and his lack of documented rehabilitation efforts. Consequently, the judge ruled to deny 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. 24-02308

deniedMar 4, 2026· Hon. Roger C. Wesley· hearing

Summary

A 23-year-old defense contractor employee was denied a security clearance under Guideline H (Drug Involvement) due to unresolved substance misuse concerns. The Statement of Reasons alleged the applicant used marijuana with varying frequency from approximately October 2022 to at least December 2024, and purchased it from about January 2023 to December 2023. These actions raised disqualifying conditions related to drug involvement.

While the applicant claimed to have ceased marijuana use and committed to abstinence, these assertions were not sufficiently mitigated. The judge noted the applicant's ongoing associations with drug-using peers and a lack of documented counseling or support for his claims of abstinence.

Ultimately, the applicant's past behavior and the unmitigated concerns regarding drug involvement raised significant security concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness, leading to the denial of eligibility for access to classified information.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant's drug involvement and substance misuse were not mitigated due to ongoing associations with drug-using peers.
The applicant failed to provide documented evidence of counseling or support for his claims of abstinence.
The applicant's past behavior raised significant security concerns regarding reliability and trustworthiness.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

DC ¶ 25(a)raisedAny Substance Misuse
DC ¶ 25(c)raisedIllegal Possession of a Controlled Substance
DC ¶ 25(g)raisedExpressed Intent to Continue Drug Involvement

Mitigating

MC ¶ 26(a)rejectedBehavior Happened so Long Ago or Was InfrequentThe applicant's drug use was recent and ongoing until December 2024.
MC ¶ 26(b)rejectedAcknowledgment of Drug Involvement and Evidence of Actions Taken to Overcome the ProblemThe applicant did not provide sufficient evidence of actions taken to overcome drug involvement.

Key Rule Quoted

“Eligibility for access to classified information may only be granted "upon a finding that it is clearly consistent with the national interest to do so."”
— Exec. Or. 10865, Safeguarding Classified Information within Industry § 2 (Feb. 20, 1960)

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedMay 9, 2025
Answer filedMay 25, 2025
Hearing heldJan 21, 2026
Decision dateMar 4, 2026

Cite For

Denial of Security Clearance Due to Unresolved Drug Involvement Under Guideline H
Importance of Documented Counseling in Mitigating Substance Misuse Concerns
Impact of Ongoing Associations with Drug-using Peers on Security Clearance Eligibility

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: HearingDecided: denied

The applicant was found to have used and purchased marijuana with varying frequency, which raised security concerns under Guideline H. The judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that the applicant's drug involvement and substance misuse were not mitigated, resulting in a denial of eligibility for access to classified information.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	used marijuana with varying frequency from about October 2022 to at least December 2024	Against Applicant	Marijuana	Frequent	Admitted	—	—	Claimed Acknowledgment and Remorse
1.b	purchased marijuana with varying frequency from about January 2023 to about December 2023	Against Applicant	Marijuana	Frequent	Admitted	—	—	Claimed Acknowledgment and Remorse

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.