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ISCR Case 25-00175 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 25-00175

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

Case Profile
Decision Date1/29/2026
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Erin C. Hogan
Government Counsel: George A. Hawkins
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 42-year-old individual seeking a security clearance for employment with a Department of Defense contractor. The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing concerns under Guideline H, which pertains to drug involvement and substance misuse. The SOR alleged that the applicant had used and purchased marijuana from approximately December 1999 to April 2024, expressed an intention to continue using marijuana, and had engaged in this behavior while employed in a sensitive position.
In his response to the SOR, the applicant admitted to the allegations regarding his past marijuana use and purchases but denied that he had used marijuana while holding a security clearance, asserting that he did not possess one. He acknowledged his ongoing use of marijuana, stating it was recreational and legal in his state, and indicated a willingness to continue using it in the future. The administrative judge found that the applicant's admissions and the evidence presented raised significant security concerns regarding his reliability and trustworthiness.
Ultimately, the administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that the security concerns under Guideline H were not mitigated. The judge noted the applicant's long history of illegal marijuana use, his expressed intent to continue using it despite knowing it was illegal under federal law, and the implications this had for his judgment and reliability. As a result, the applicant's eligibility for access to classified information was denied.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline HDrug Involvement & Substance Misuse · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 25-00175

deniedJan 29, 2026· Hon. Erin C. Hogan· hearing

Summary

A 42-year-old male applicant with a bachelor's degree was denied a security clearance under Guideline H (Drug Involvement) due to extensive marijuana use and an expressed intent to continue its use. The Statement of Reasons detailed that the applicant used and purchased marijuana with varying frequency from approximately December 1999 to April 2024.

Furthermore, from about April 2024 to the present, the applicant continued to use and purchase marijuana while employed in a sensitive position. The applicant also explicitly stated an intention to use marijuana in the future, despite its illegality under federal law.

The administrative judge determined that the applicant's admissions raised significant unmitigated security concerns. The long history of illegal marijuana use, coupled with the intent to continue, led to questions regarding the applicant's reliability and trustworthiness, resulting in the denial of eligibility for access to classified information.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant admitted to using and purchasing marijuana from 1999 to 2024.
The applicant expressed intent to continue using marijuana in the future despite its illegality under federal law.
The applicant's long history of illegal marijuana use raised questions about his reliability and trustworthiness.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

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

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 issuedApr 11, 2025
Answer filedJul 14, 2025Applicant elected a decision on the written record.
Hearing held—Decision made on the written record.
Decision dateJan 29, 2026

Cite For

Denial of Security Clearance Due to Drug Involvement Under Guideline H
Impact of Expressed Intent to Continue Illegal Drug Use on Security Clearance Eligibility
Consideration of the Whole-person Concept in Security Clearance Determinations

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 marijuana with varying frequency from December 1999 to April 2024 and purchased marijuana during the same period. The applicant also expressed an intent to use marijuana in the future. However, the judge ruled against the applicant on these allegations, citing concerns about national security. The applicant's use and purchase of marijuana while holding a sensitive position was found to be mitigated due to a lack of evidence indicating he held a security clearance during that time.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant used marijuana with varying frequency from about December 1999 to about 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	—	Claimed Rehabilitation Evidence
1.b	Applicant purchased marijuana from about December 1999 to about April 2024.	Against Applicant	Marijuana	Frequent	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse (c) illegal possession, cultivation, manufacture, purchase, sale, or distribution; or paraphernalia	—	—
1.c	Applicant intends to use marijuana 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.d	From about April 2024 to the present, Applicant used and purchased marijuana with varying frequency while employed in a sensitive position.	For Applicant	MarijuanaWHILE CLEARED	Frequent	Denied	—	—	—

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.