A bipartisan pair of U.S. lawmakers last week introduced legislation to ease federal employment restrictions on cannabis use that deny employment opportunities for past and current marijuana users. The bill, titled the Cannabis Users Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act, was introduced on July 27 by Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina who has been an outspoken supporter of federal cannabis policy reform.

“Every year, qualified and dedicated individuals seeking to serve our country are unable to secure federal jobs and security clearances because the federal government has not caught up with the widely established legal use of medical and recreational cannabis,” Raskin said in a statement on Friday. “I am proud to partner with my friend Representative Mace to introduce the bipartisan CURE Act that will eliminate the draconian, failed and obsolete marijuana policies that prevent talented individuals from becoming honorable public servants in their own government.”

If passed, the CURE Act would prevent past or current marijuana use from being the basis for an applicant being found unsuitable for federal employment or the denial of a security clearance for federal workers. The legislation would also be applied retroactively, allowing workers or applicants who have been denied employment or a security clearance to appeal such denials.

“For too long, the federal government has been denying Americans civil service opportunities solely because of its outdated attitudes toward cannabis and those who consume it,” said Morgan Fox, political director at the cannabis policy reform group the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). “Denying these millions of Americans consideration for employment and security clearances is discriminatory and it unnecessarily shrinks the talent pool available for these important jobs. NORML commends the sponsors for working to undo this policy and replace it with fair and sensible hiring and clearance practices that will put America on much stronger footing on the global stage.”

Bill Endorsed By Justice Groups

The CURE Act has been endorsed by justice reform advocates and cannabis industry groups including the Drug Policy Alliance, the Due Process Institute, Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), NORML and the U.S. Cannabis Council.

“Millions of patriotic, conscientious Americans use cannabis legally each year, but they are consistently penalized by outdated federal regulations,” said Ed Conklin, executive director of the U.S. Cannabis Council. “We strongly support the CURE Act because it will bring federal employment policies into line with the views of most Americans. Cannabis use should never prevent a qualified candidate from serving his or her country as a federal employee.”

The bipartisan bill is not the first effort to ease employment discrimination against cannabis users seeking a job with the federal government. In 2021, the federal Office of Personnel Management, an agency that sets “suitability” standards to determine whether an individual is fit to serve in a federal position, issued new guidance to clarify that past marijuana use should not automatically disqualify applicants or appointees from most U.S. government jobs. However, the agency emphasized that marijuana is still considered a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Additionally, the Drug-Free Workplace executive order of 1986 requires federal employees to refrain from using illegal drugs at all times.

“An individual’s disregard of federal law pertaining to marijuana while employed by the federal government remains relevant and may lead to disciplinary action,” the OPM wrote in the 2021 memo. “It is important to note that it is also the policy of the federal government to offer appropriate prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programs and services for federal civilian employees with drug problems.”

Also in 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which sets security standards for access to classified information, issued new guidance to clarify that past marijuana use should not be the sole reason someone is denied a security clearance. The guidance stresses that the illegal use of any controlled substances “can raise security concerns about an individual’s reliability and trustworthiness to access classified information or to hold a sensitive position, as well as their ability or willingness to comply with laws, rules, and regulations.”

However, the guidelines also instruct agencies that prior recreational marijuana use by an individual “may be relevant to adjudications but not determinative” in issuing a security clearance. The guidance references a 2017 security directive that tells agencies to apply the “whole person concept” to the decision for granting a security clearance.

“There are many talented and dedicated people who have used cannabis and want to serve their country,” said Terry Blevins, a former civilian investigator for the Department of Defense, Arizona police sergeant, and LEAP board member. “Compromising recruitment by our federal agencies with antiquated cannabis laws makes our nation less safe in the face of security threats we face globally.”

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The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence passed the FY24 Intelligence Authorization Act in a 17-0 vote on June 14, which includes a provision that prevents discrimination or denial of jobs in government intelligence agencies.

The bill was proposed by Sen. Ron Wyden, a senior member of the committee. “This bill includes historic bipartisan legislation reforming the country’s broken classification and declassification system,” said Wyden in a press release. “The bill also includes my provision to ensure that cannabis use will not disqualify intelligence community applicants from serving their country. It’s a commonsense change to ensure the IC [intelligence community] can recruit the most capable people possible. Finally, the bill includes critically important provisions to protect Intelligence Community whistleblowers.”

Previously in June 2022, Wyden filed an amendment that “prohibited any Federal agency from denying or revoking an individual’s eligibility for access to classified information solely because of past or present use of cannabis” last year. A second-degree amendment reduced to only intelligence agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and National Security Agency (NSA). The original text which described “past or present use” was changed to “pre-employment.”

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

According to Chairman Mark Warner, the FY24 Intelligence Authorization Act “furthers the Committee’s efforts to reform the security clearance process, so that the IC can attract and expeditiously on-board 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 security clearance inclusions. “We recognize, frankly, that many states have legalized or decriminalized marijuana use and wanted to be sure that we’re not disqualifying people solely for that purpose in that context,” Haines said at the hearing.

“We obviously believe that we want to have the talent that exists in America—and when somebody is using it [cannabis] experimentally in a legal state that’s something that shouldn’t on its own essentially disqualify,” Haines continued. “We continue to approach this from a whole-person perspective. And we expect if anybody takes the job to comply with our policies and our laws in a trusted position.”

The discussion of security clearance for cannabis users goes further back to a memo from Haines in January 2022, following up from guidance signed in December 2021.

Other federal agencies have addressed cannabis consumption as well. 

Back in 2014, former FBI Director James Comey suggested that the agency should consider loosening employment rules for cannabis. “I have to hire a great work force to compete with those cyber criminals and some of those kids want to smoke weed on the way to the interview,” Comey said, according to an interview with Wall Street Journal.

The FBI originally disqualified any applicants of they had consumed cannabis within the past three years of their application. Now as of July 2021, the rule applies to cannabis use within one year.

In March, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives revised its rules so that anyone who has legally cultivated, manufactured or sold cannabis would still be considered for a job. However, those who did so in violation of state law would be disqualified.

In May, the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) updated its rules on cannabis use for applicants, stating that those who have used hemp-derived CBD products within one year prior to their application would be reviewed “on a case-by-case basis by adjudicative personnel.” Previously, the USSS based its rules around age, where 24 years or younger could apply after one year free of cannabis consumption, but 28 and older would not be eligible for at least five years after consumption.

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