Intelligence officials cannot be denied security clearance, Senate committee says

The Senate Special Committee on Intelligence June 14 passed the Intelligence Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024 by a vote of 17 to 0, which includes a provision preventing discrimination or denial of jobs in government intelligence agencies.

The bill was proposed by Senator Ron Wyden, a senior member of the committee. “This bill contains historic bipartisan legislation to reform the country’s broken classification and declassification system.” Wyden said in a press release. “The bill also includes my provision to ensure cannabis use does not disqualify Secret Service applicants from service in their country. It’s a reasonable change to ensure the IC [intelligence community] can recruit the most capable people possible. Finally, the bill contains extremely important provisions to protect whistleblowers in the secret service.”

Wyden previously filed an amendment in June 2022 last year that would “prohibit any federal agency from denying or revoking an individual’s authority to access classified information solely on the basis of past or current cannabis use.” A second-degree change limited only to intelligence agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and National Security Agency (NSA). The original text describing “past or present use” was changed to “previous employment”.

Later in September 2022, Wyden’s proposal met opposition from Senator Chuck Grassley and Senator John Cornyn, who objected to its inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

According to Chairman Mark Warner, the The FY24 Intelligence Authorization Act “advances the committee’s efforts to reform the security clearance process so that the IC can attract and quickly onboard a talented, diverse and trusted workforce to meet the emerging challenges we face.”

On March 8, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines addressed the need for the inclusion of security clearances. “We are frankly aware that many states have legalized or decriminalized the use of marijuana and wanted to make sure we didn’t just disqualify people for that purpose,” Haines said at the hearing.

“We obviously believe that we want the talent that is there in America – and if someone is using it [cannabis] Experimentally in a legal state, that’s something that shouldn’t be fundamentally disqualifying on its own,” Haines continued. “We continue to approach this from a holistic perspective. And we expect anyone who accepts the job to be in a position of trust to comply with our policies and laws.”

The discussion of safety clearance for cannabis users goes further back to a Haines memo in January 2022, following up on the guidelines signed in December 2021.

Other federal agencies have also looked into cannabis use.

Back in 2014, former FBI Director James Comey suggested that the agency should consider relaxing cannabis employment rules. “I have to hire a great workforce to compete with these cybercriminals, and some of these kids want to smoke weed on the way to an interview,” Comey said, according to an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

The FBI originally disqualified all applicants on the grounds that they had used cannabis within three years of their application. Since July 2021, the regulation for cannabis consumption within one year has applied.

In March, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives changed its rules so that anyone who has legally grown, manufactured or sold cannabis is still eligible for a job. However, those violating state law would be disqualified.

In May, the United States Secret Service (USSS) updated its rules on cannabis use for applicants, stating that those who had used hemp-based CBD products within a year prior to their application would be reviewed “on a case-by-case basis by adjudicating personnel.” Previously the USSS based its rules on age, with those 24 years of age or younger being able to claim after one year of no cannabis use, but those 28 years of age and older being ineligible for at least five years after use.