FBI relaxes cannabis policy for potential agents

FBI regulations have changed, and now potential agents can apply for the agency even if they have previously used cannabis.

Many praise this as a great sign of progress for the organization as the FBI has updated their hiring process to include cannabis use within a year of application being an exclusion criterion, but any previous use is fine. In the past, applicants were not allowed to have used cannabis in the past three years.

“Candidates must not have used marijuana or cannabis in any form (natural or synthetic) or in any location (domestic or overseas) within one (1) year prior to the date of their job application,” the FBI website now states.

As early as May of this year, the regulations stated: “Candidates must not have consumed marijuana within the three (3) years prior to the date of their application for employment, regardless of the place of consumption (even if the consumption of marijuana in the candidate’s household is legal). Status).”

In addition, the website now states that cannabis use “before the candidate’s 18th birthday is not an exclusion criterion for employment with the FBI”. “However, assessing staff will evaluate the candidate according to the ‘holistic concept’.”

No announcement of this change was made, but the policy was quietly updated in the backend.

That came a year after the FBI claimed it was “considering a change in internal policies regarding the use of CBD products by its agents and other employees” regarding the current legal status of CBD.

“I have to hire a great workforce to compete with these cyber criminals and some of these kids want to smoke weed on the way to the interview,” former FBI director James Comey said in 2014 of the guidelines.

However, the policy remained unchanged for individuals who “are currently abusing illegal drugs or abusing or abusing legal drugs or other substances for illegal purposes at the time of the application process”. These applicants have to wait 10 more years and are not allowed to misrepresent their previous drug use.

“The FBI is firmly committed to a drug-free society and a drug-free workplace,” it says on the construction site. “The FBI balances the needs of the organization and the importance of maintaining the public integrity necessary to the performance of its law enforcement and intelligence duties by recruiting the most qualified candidates.”

FBI is breaking new ground

However, other federal agencies are not making this change anytime soon. The Department of Defense bans CBD for service members, and the Air Force also stresses that it is taboo. The Navy has gone so far as to say that CBD is off-limits whether or not it’s legal now. The Coast Guard does not allow cannabis use or visits to pharmacies, even in legal states.

NASA is concerned about unauthorized levels of THC in CBD products that affect drug testing, based on guidelines from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Authority. Unsurprisingly, the DEA still does not require cannabis use for three years prior to filing an application.

Not all of them have such a strong stance, however. Besides the FBI, the Department of Transportation doesn’t test drivers for CBD. And the Biden government gives some exemptions to workers who admit past cannabis use, especially after being called over reports of layoffs of employees for past cannabis use.

Although White House press secretary Jen Psaki attempted to downplay the White House issue by claiming no one was fired for “using marijuana years ago,” nor was anyone “fired for occasional or infrequent use in the past 12 years Months “. many still consider this draconian policy and want others to follow in the FBI’s footsteps.