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ISCR Case 01-25285.h1 — CASE

ISCR Case 01-25285.h1denied

Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 01-25285.h1

deniedNov 6, 2002· Hon. Richard A. Cefola· hearing

Summary

A 52-year-old defense contractor was denied a security clearance under Guideline H (Drug Involvement) due to her extensive history of unlawful marijuana use and her stated intent to continue using it. The Administrative Judge determined that her long-term drug involvement raised significant concerns regarding her judgment and reliability.

The Statement of Reasons detailed several allegations, including the Applicant's use of marijuana from approximately 1969 to the present, with varying frequency. This use occurred while she was in the Navy and while holding a security clearance. She was also charged with and pled guilty to Possession of Marijuana. Additionally, the Applicant admitted to limited cocaine use in the 1980s.

Crucially, the Applicant admitted her intention to use marijuana in the future, albeit on an infrequent basis. The Judge found that she had not rebutted the Government's case regarding her drug involvement and had not met the mitigating conditions of Guideline H, leading to the denial of her security clearance.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The Applicant admitted to being an unlawful user of marijuana and intends to continue using it in the future.
The Applicant's drug involvement spans over 33 years, raising concerns about her judgment and reliability.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

H.araisedAny Drug Abuse
H.braisedIllegal Drug Possession, Including Purchase

Key Rule Quoted

“The improper or illegal involvement with drugs raises questions regarding an individual's willingness or ability to protect classified information.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedJul 10, 2002
Answer filedJul 30, 2002
Hearing held—Determined on a written record in lieu of a hearing.
Decision dateNov 6, 2002

Cite For

Denial of Security Clearance Due to Ongoing Drug Use Under Guideline H
Impact of Long-term Drug Involvement on Security Clearance Eligibility
Consideration of Future Intentions Regarding Drug Use in Clearance Decisions

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 Applicant is found to be an unlawful user of marijuana and has expressed an intention to continue using it in the future. The judge ruled against the Applicant on all allegations under Guideline H, resulting in the denial of the security clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	The Applicant used marijuana, with varying frequency, from about 1969 to the present.	Against Applicant	MarijuanaWHILE CLEARED	Regular	Admitted	—	—	—
1.b	The Applicant used marijuana while in the Navy and while I held a security clearance.	Against Applicant	MarijuanaWHILE CLEARED	Regular	Admitted	—	—	—
1.c	The Applicant was charged with, and subsequently pled guilty to, Possession of Marijuana.	Against Applicant	Drug Distribution or DealingWHILE CLEARED	Not Applicable	Admitted	—	—	—
1.d	The Applicant also used cocaine, on a limited basis, in the 1980s.	Against Applicant	Cocaine	Experimental	Admitted	—	—	—
1.e	The Applicant admits she intends to use marijuana in the future, but 'on an infrequent basis'.	Against Applicant	Stated Intent to Use Again	Not Applicable	Admitted	—	—	—
1.f	The Applicant has not rebutted the Government's case regarding her drug involvement.	Against Applicant	Unspecified Drug Involvement	Unspecified	Unknown	—	—	—
1.g	The Applicant has thus not met the mitigating conditions of Guideline H.	Against Applicant	Unspecified Drug Involvement	Unspecified	Unknown	—	—	—

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.

Decision text, by section

DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS

HEARING

APPEARANCES

DATE: November 6, 2002 In Re: ------------------ SSN: ----------- Applicant for Security Clearance ISCR Case No. 01-25285 DECISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE RICHARD A. CEFOLA

SYNOPSIS The Applicant is an unlawful user of marijuana, and fully intends to use the drug in the future. Clearance is denied.

STATEMENT OF CASE

On July 10, 2002, the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA), pursuant to Executive Order 10865 and Department of Defense Directive 5220.6 (Directive), dated January 2, 1992, issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) to the Applicant, which detailed reasons why DOHA could not make the preliminary affirmative finding under the Directive that it is clearly consistent with the national interest to grant or continue a security clearance for the Applicant and recommended referral to an Administrative Judge to determine whether a clearance should be denied or revoked. Applicant filed an Answer to the SOR on July 30, 2002. Applicant elected to have this case determined on a written record in lieu of a hearing. Department Counsel submitted the Government's File of Relevant aterial (FORM) on September 16, 2002. Applicant was instructed to submit objections or information in rebuttal, extenuation or mitigation within 30 days of receipt of the FORM. Applicant received her copy on September 26, 2002, and submitted nothing in reply. The case was received by the undersigned for resolution on November 1, 2002. The issue raised here is whether the Applicant's admitted continuing drug abuse militates against the granting of a security clearance.

FINDINGS OF FACT

The following Findings of Fact are based on Applicant's Answer to the SOR, and the File of Relevant Material. The Applicant is 52 years of age, and is employed by a defense contractor who seeks a security clearance on behalf of the Applicant. Guideline H - Drug Involvement 1.a.~1.g. The Applicant used marijuana, with varying frequency, from about 1969 to the present (Government Exhibit (GX) 5 at page 2). The Applicant, in part, describes her marijuana abuse in the following terms: I first used marijuana in 1969 when a friend in high school gave me some. . . . I used it on a regular basis in the 1970sbut cut back in the early 1980sto using it four or five times a year and no longer purchase it. I did use marijuana while in the Navy and while I held a security clearance . . . (id). In 1977, the Applicant was charged with, and subsequently pled guilty to, Possession of Marijuana. She was in the Navy at the time of this conviction (ibid). The Applicant also used cocaine, on a limited basis, in the 1980s. She describes her cocaine abuse as follows: "In the early 1980s, I experimented with the use of cocaine, I tried it once or twice and didn't like it so stopped" (GX 5 at page 2). As to her future intentions as to the use of marijuana, the Applicant admits she intends to use it in the future, but "on an infrequent basis" (GX 2 at page 1). As the Applicant "is an unlawful user" of marijuana, pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 986, Guideline H is found against the Applicant. Mitigation I find the Applicant to be a very candid person.

POLICIES

Enclosure 2 and Section E.2.2. of the 1992 Directive set forth both policy factors, and conditions that could raise or mitigate a security concern; which must be given binding consideration in making security clearance determinations. The conditions should be followed in every case according to the pertinent criterion, however, the conditions are neither automatically determinative of the decision in any case, nor can they supersede the Administrative Judge's reliance on his own common sense. Because each security clearance case presents its own unique facts and circumstances, it should not be assumed that these conditions exhaust the realm of human experience, or apply equally in every case. Conditions most pertinent to evaluation of this case are: Drug Involvement Conditions that could raise a security concern: a. Any drug abuse (drug abuse is the illegal use of a drug or use of a legal drug in a manner that deviates from approved medical direction); (1) b. Illegal drug possession, including . . . purchase; Conditions that could mitigate security concerns: none As set forth in the Directive, each clearance decision must be a fair and impartial common sense determination based upon consideration of all the relevant and material information and the pertinent criteria and adjudication policy in enclosure 2, including as appropriate: a. Nature, extent, and seriousness of the conduct and surrounding circumstances. b. Frequency and recency of the conduct. c. Age and maturity of the applicant. d. Motivation of the applicant, and the extent to which the conduct was negligent, willful, voluntary, or undertaken with knowledge of the consequence involved. e. Absence or presence of rehabilitation. f. Probability that circumstances or conduct will continue or recur in the future." The Administrative Judge, however, can only draw those inferences or conclusions that have a reasonable and logical basis in the evidence of record. The Judge cannot draw inferences or conclusions based on evidence which is speculative or conjectural in nature. The Government must make out its case under Guideline H (Drug Involvement), which establishes doubt about a person's judgment, reliability and trustworthiness. While a rational connection, or nexus, must be shown between an applicant's adverse conduct and her ability to effectively safeguard classified information, with respect to sufficiency of proof of a rational connection, objective or direct evidence is not required. Then, the Applicant must remove that doubt with substantial evidence in refutation, explanation, mitigation or extenuation, which demonstrates that the past adverse conduct, is unlikely to be repeated, and that the Applicant presently qualifies for a security clearance. The improper or illegal involvement with drugs, raises questions regarding an individual's willingness or ability to protect classified information. The Government must be able to place a high degree of confidence in a security clearance holder to abide by all security rules and regulations at all times and in all places. If an applicant has demonstrated a lack of respect for the law in her private affairs, then there exists the possibility that an applicant may demonstrate the same attitude towards security rules and regulations.

CONCLUSION

The Applicant's occasional drug involvement extends over a period of about 33 years, from 1969 to the present. In her answer to the SOR, the Applicant not only admits her current marijuana abuse, but also admits that she fully intends to use it in the future. This being the case, she comes within the clear purview of 10 U.S.C 986 as "an unlawful user of . . . a controlled substance." Guideline H is therefore found against the Applicant. Considering all the evidence, the Applicant has not rebutted the Government's case regarding her drug involvement. The Applicant has thus not met the mitigating conditions of Guideline H, and of Section E.2.2. of the Directive. Accordingly, she has not met her ultimate burden of persuasion under Guideline H.

FORMAL FINDINGS

Formal Findings required by paragraph 25 of Enclosure 3 of the Directive are: Paragraph 1: AGAINST THE APPLICANT a. Against the Applicant. b. Against the Applicant. c. Against the Applicant. d. Against the Applicant. e. Against the Applicant. f. Against the Applicant. g. Against the Applicant. Factual support and reasons for the foregoing are set forth in FINDINGS OF FACT and CONCLUSIONS, supra.

DECISION

In light of the circumstances presented by the record in this case, it is not clearly consistent with the national interest to grant or continue a security clearance for the Applicant. Richard A. Cefola Administrative Judge 1. Under the provisions of 10 U.S.C. 986 any person who is the unlawful user of . . . a controlled substance . . . may not be granted or have renewed their access to classified information.

FOOTNOTES

01-25285.h1 FOR GOVERNMENT Jennifer I. Campbell, Esquire, Department Counsel FOR APPLICANT Pro Se file:///usr.osd.mil/...yComputer/Desktop/DOHA%20transfer/DOHA-Kane/dodogc/doha/industrial/Archived%20-%20HTML/01-25285.h1.html[7/2/2021 2:28:47 PM] 01-25285.h1