The bill, introduced by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., would enshrine in law that past marijuana use cannot be the sole basis for denying federal job applicants a position or security clearance.
The head of the Senate’s panel overseeing federal workforce issues announced Wednesday that he had introduced legislation to codify the recent loosening of hiring and security clearance restrictions on past marijuana use in law.
Shortly after Biden’s inauguration in 2021, the Office of Personnel Management issued new guidance stating that a federal job applicant’s past marijuana use can no longer be the sole factor behind the decision not to hire them. Similarly, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence updated its rules to clarify that past marijuana consumption cannot be the only reason behind the denial of a security clearance for federal workers and contractors.
The Dismantling Outdated Obstacles and Barriers to Individual Employment—or DOOBIE—Act (S. 4711), introduced by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, would codify that guidance in federal law. Currently, the policy could be rolled back by a future administration with a similar issuance of new guidance.
Current users of marijuana would still be barred from federal employment and denied security clearances, as its possession and consumption is still ostensibly a federal crime. But the move to make the Biden administration’s policy change permanent reflects the shifting landscape on the drug. [Read More @ Government Executive]