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Bid to Let Spy Agencies Hire Former Pot Users Fails

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By    |   Thursday, 08 December 2022 11:47 AM EST

An effort to permit spy agencies to hire former marijuana users failed after at least two Republican senators opposed it, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Under the provision, the agencies would have been prevented from disqualifying job candidates solely based on past marijuana use.

The measure had been included in the intelligence authorization act that funds U.S. intelligence agencies.

Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and John Cornyn, R-Texas, pushed to get it removed.

Grassley, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told members of the Intelligence committee that the judiciary panel had concerns the provision would impact security clearances, a spokesman told the newspaper.

The spokesman didn't provide any further details about those objections. A spokeswoman for Cornyn declined to comment.

“I'm disappointed that partisan objections are going to block the inclusion of this sensible reform, which passed out of the Senate Intelligence Committee on a bipartisan 11-5 vote,” said Sen. Mark Warner, the Democratic chairman of the intelligence committee.

And Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who is a member of the committee and sponsored the provision, said federal law was not keeping pace with state laws that have increasingly eased marijuana use.

“People seeking security clearances to serve their country should not be disqualified for cannabis use,” Wyden said. “Our national security depends on intelligence agencies having access to the best people for the job, particularly when it comes to cybersecurity and other technical fields. Senate Republicans are sacrificing security for misguided government morality policing when they block these common-sense reforms.”

A 2017 report by McClatchy News said spy agencies were worried pot bans were hurting efforts to recruit young people.

Back then it was noted that the CIA was warning job applicants they could be rejected for a security clearance for using pot — even if they live in a state where marijuana is legal.

"Regardless of whether an individual is located in a state that has legalized marijuana or in a foreign country where local laws allow it, and regardless of whether the Department of Justice enforces applicable federal criminal prohibitions in those jurisdictions, any use of marijuana may adversely impact that individual's eligibility for a security clearance," the "drug use" section of the application process warned.

And the Journal, citing a 2016 standard job application form, noted that those applying for positions at national-security agencies are asked whether they have used marijuana or other illegal substances within the past seven years.

Jeffrey Rodack

Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.

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An effort to permit spy agencies to hire former marijuana users failed after at least two Republican senators opposed it, The Wall Street Journal reported.
spy, agencies, pot, hire, disqualification
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2022-47-08
Thursday, 08 December 2022 11:47 AM
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