Past drug use Forum

[quickquestion111]

Let's assume all drug use stopped prior to law school and you have no drug convictions. Drug usage prior to law school included a little bit of a lot of stuff (marijuana, party drugs, hallucinogens) but never went into "hard" drugs (opiates, amphetamines, bars, etc).

Who cares and how much do they care?

I assume firms and public interest organizations care less than government agencies, is that correct? I assume state/local government care less than Federal government (AUSA offices and agencies), is that correct? Does it come up at all when applying for federal clerkships?

If I go to law school, are certain paths already completely foreclosed to me? AUSA and federal agencies in particular? What about ADAs and AG offices?


I found this on HLS' website:

Drug use and past drug use continue to be taken seriously by all federal employers, including DOJ. This is a particularly difficult issue: admitting to even minor drug use may lead to rejection, and lying is committing perjury. Both OPIA and DOJ strongly recommend that you always answer all questions on security forms honestly.

DOJ currently considers any drug use case-by-case, based on a totality of the circumstances. Factors considered can include what, when, and how often drugs were used, whether purchase or sale was involved, whether use was pre- or post-bar, whether use occurred while in a position of public trust, and potential mitigating circumstances. It is critical to note, however, that each U.S. Attorney’s office independently formulates its own policies regarding prior drug use by applicants. There is no centrally organized, universal U.S. Attorney’s Office policy towards past drug use. For instance, in the past, an HLS student was turned down for a security clearance by the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office because he admitted to trying marijuana once on an experimental basis.

In other agencies and departments, policies can vary. A recent change in the FBI’s policy requires that applicants not have used marijuana in the past three years, or other drugs in the past ten years, while loosening restrictions on use prior to those periods. The CIA requires that applicants not have used illegal drugs within the past 12 months, and carefully evaluates any use prior to that year during medical and security processing.

- http://hls.harvard.edu/dept/opia/job-se ... learances/

[tinycatfriend]

One: Do not ever, ever, ever lie. Lying will hurt you more than admitting to past drug use will. Usually they are understanding, assuming you follow all the rules and DO NOT LIE.

[jjcorvino]

Let's assume all drug use stopped prior to law school and you have no drug convictions. Drug usage prior to law school included a little bit of a lot of stuff (marijuana, party drugs, hallucinogens) but never went into "hard" drugs (opiates, amphetamines, bars, etc).

Who cares and how much do they care?

I assume firms and public interest organizations care less than government agencies, is that correct? I assume state/local government care less than Federal government (AUSA offices and agencies), is that correct? Does it come up at all when applying for federal clerkships?

If I go to law school, are certain paths already completely foreclosed to me? AUSA and federal agencies in particular? What about ADAs and AG offices?


I found this on HLS' website:

Drug use and past drug use continue to be taken seriously by all federal employers, including DOJ. This is a particularly difficult issue: admitting to even minor drug use may lead to rejection, and lying is committing perjury. Both OPIA and DOJ strongly recommend that you always answer all questions on security forms honestly.

DOJ currently considers any drug use case-by-case, based on a totality of the circumstances. Factors considered can include what, when, and how often drugs were used, whether purchase or sale was involved, whether use was pre- or post-bar, whether use occurred while in a position of public trust, and potential mitigating circumstances. It is critical to note, however, that each U.S. Attorney’s office independently formulates its own policies regarding prior drug use by applicants. There is no centrally organized, universal U.S. Attorney’s Office policy towards past drug use. For instance, in the past, an HLS student was turned down for a security clearance by the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office because he admitted to trying marijuana once on an experimental basis.

In other agencies and departments, policies can vary. A recent change in the FBI’s policy requires that applicants not have used marijuana in the past three years, or other drugs in the past ten years, while loosening restrictions on use prior to those periods. The CIA requires that applicants not have used illegal drugs within the past 12 months, and carefully evaluates any use prior to that year during medical and security processing.

- http://hls.harvard.edu/dept/opia/job-se ... learances/

I received a top secret clearance after disclosing all of my drug use. Very similar stuff to you. The number one rule is to not lie. If you lie and even one of your friends (they interview multiple degrees of separation out) mentions drugs when asked you will be denied.