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As Congress works to end federal marijuana prohibition, one key lawmaker says he will soon be introducing a bill aimed at protecting federal workers from being denied security clearances over marijuana.<\/p>\n
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) previewed his forthcoming legislation during a hearing on marijuana legalization that was held on Tuesday<\/a> in a House Oversight subcommittee that he chairs. While the bill hasn\u2019t been formally filed yet, he explained that it would tackle federal employment issues that remain unresolved under criminalization.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got 2.85 million federal employees in America\u2014in my state, more than 100,000 people,\u201d Raskin said. \u201cAnd people have been disqualified from federal employment because they honestly admit on a security clearance form that they have once used marijuana, something that more than half of the country has done.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had many constituents I\u2019ve spoken to who have been chosen for a significant federal position after an exacting process of interview, who then are rejected in the security clearance process because they have admitted to having once used marijuana,\u201d the congressman said.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time that Raskin has raised the issue. Just before the House passed a marijuana legalization bill earlier this year, he filed an amendment to require federal agencies to review security clearance denials going back to 1971 and retroactively make it so cannabis could not be used \u201cas a reason to deny or rescind a security clearance.\u201d That measure was narrowly defeated in a floor vote<\/a>, however.<\/p>\n Now he said that he\u2019s \u201cgoing to be advancing\u201d standalone legislation \u201cto deal with that problem.\u201d<\/p>\n The text of Raskin\u2019s bill hasn\u2019t yet been made available, so it\u2019s not clear if the scope will only cover past cannabis use, for example, or if it would allow federal employees who live in states that have enacted legalization to continue using marijuana on their own time and still keep their security clearances.<\/p>\n \u2014 While the Biden administration instituted a policy last year authorizing waivers to be granted to certain workers<\/a> who admit to prior cannabis use, Raskin said on Tuesday that \u201ctoo often I\u2019m hearing from people who tell me that it operates just like that as an automatic instant disqualifier for their employment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is obviously profoundly unfair to the individuals\u2014but also it\u2019s a tremendous waste of human talent and unnecessary stigmatization and demoralization of our own people,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is one small aspect of a whole regime of injustice that has grown up around the war on marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven in the states where it has been fully legalized, federal employees and applicants are still vulnerable to being fired or rejected from their jobs even for having used a medical marijuana prescription in a state where that\u2019s lawful,\u201d Raskin said<\/a> in his opening statement at the hearing. \u201cWe should not be denying our constituents the opportunity to serve in federal office simply because they have used marijuana, as a majority of the country records that it has.\u201d<\/p>\n\n Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), the sponsor of a federal cannabis legalization bill and GOP ranking member on the Oversight subcommittee, told Marijuana Moment on Tuesday that she intends to co-sponsor the chairman\u2019s marijuana employment bill, which Raskin separately announced at the hearing.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m putting my money where my mouth is,\u201d Mace said in the interview. \u201cIf I say I\u2019m willing to work with you, I am. And I hope that that will happen in return.\u201d<\/p>\n As Raskin delivered closing remarks at Tuesday\u2019s hearing and announced his forthcoming bill, Mace could be seen writing a note and sliding it in front of the chairman, later pointing at it before he wrapped up. Raskin read it and smiled, and then announced that the GOP congresswoman would be supporting the federal worker legislation.<\/p>\n As part of advancing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Senate leaders sought to attach separate broader intelligence legislation that had included a provision preventing the denial of security clearances over cannabis<\/a> which was approved by a Senate committee earlier this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n But two GOP senators protested the inclusion of the marijuana language and it was consequently dropped from the measure, prompting the sponsor to separately file different, broader amendments on the issue.<\/p>\n One of the proposals from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) would prevent the denial of federal security clearances for people over cannabis use at any time, while the other would limit the protection only to people who admit to past use prior to entering national security vetting.<\/p>\n As more states have moved to legalize marijuana in some form, workplace cannabis policies have been under close scrutiny.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the nation\u2019s largest union representing federal employees adopted a resolution in support of marijuana legalization and calling for an end to policies that penalize federal workers<\/a>\u00a0who use cannabis responsibly while they\u2019re off the clock in states where it is legal.<\/p>\n A federal marijuana legalization bill filed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in July also contains a provision that would specifically prohibit federal employers from testing workers for cannabis<\/a>,\u00a0with certain exceptions for sensitive positions such as law enforcement and those involving national security.<\/p>\n But in general, federal agencies have been reluctant to loosen cannabis-related employment rules despite state efforts to legalize cannabis for medical and recreational use.<\/p>\n For example, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently proposed a changes to drug testing policies for federal workers that would clarify that having a doctor\u2019s recommendation for medical marijuana or any other Schedule I drug is not a valid excuse for a positive drug test.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the director of national intelligence (DNI) said late last year that federal employers\u00a0shouldn\u2019t outright reject security clearance applicants<\/a>\u00a0over past use and should use discretion when it comes to those with cannabis investments in their stock portfolios.<\/p>\n FBI updated its hiring policies last year to make it so candidates are only automatically disqualified from joining the agency if they\u00a0admit to having used marijuana within one year<\/a>\u00a0of applying. Previously, prospective employees of the agency could not have used cannabis within the past three years.<\/p>\n The Department of Transportation (DOT) also took a different approach to its cannabis policy in 2020, stating in a notice that\u00a0it would not be testing drivers for CBD<\/a>. However, DOT recently reiterated that the workforce it regulates is prohibited from using marijuana and\u00a0will continue to be tested for THC<\/a>, regardless of state cannabis policy.<\/p>\n Rep Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) sent a letter to the head of DOT in May, stating that the agency\u2019s policies on drug testing truckers and other commercial drivers for marijuana are unnecessarily costing people their jobs<\/a>\u00a0and contributing to supply chain issues.<\/p>\n The Environment Protection Agency (EPA)\u00a0also emphasized to its workers<\/a>\u00a0that they are prohibited from using marijuana\u2014or directly investing in the industry\u2014no matter the state law or changes in \u201csocial norms\u201d around cannabis.<\/p>\n While the Biden administration did institute a waiver policy meant to provide discretion as it relates to federal employment and past cannabis use, it\u2019s come under fire from advocates following early reports that the White House fired or otherwise punished dozens of staffers who were honest about their history with marijuana.<\/p>\n Then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki\u00a0attempted to minimize the fallout<\/a>, without much success, and her office released a statement last year stipulating that\u00a0nobody was fired for \u201cmarijuana usage from years ago,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0nor has anyone been terminated \u201cdue to casual or infrequent use during the prior 12 months.\u201d<\/p>\n Cory Booker And Rand Paul File Bill To Reschedule Psychedelic Breakthrough Therapies And Remove Research Barriers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Martin Alonso<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Congressman Previews Bill To Protect Federal Workers From Losing Security Clearances Due To Marijuana<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
As Congress works to end federal marijuana prohibition, one key lawmaker says he will soon be introducing a bill aimed at protecting federal workers from being denied security clearances over marijuana. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) previewed his forthcoming legislation during a hearing on marijuana legalization that was held on TuesdayContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":58245,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58244"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58244"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58246,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58244\/revisions\/58246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Congressman Previews Bill To Protect Federal Workers From Losing Security Clearances Due To Marijuana<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"