Marijuana Use < 3 years - Special Agent Positions?

[911Agent]

Are there any Special Agent positions available (any agency) to an applicant that has used marijuana a little less than 3 years ago a few times?

In other words, I used marijuana a few times about 3 years ago.

[Time Traveller]

Each agency has it's own rules, but the more recent, the worse off you are. So, three years ago, is still pretty recent. Also, the agencies want to know the frequency of use. Experimental vs. recreational use vs. Pot head etc.

All you can do is try, one thing for sure is be honest on your apps. Because, if your not and it comes out in background....

Good luck and time is on your side, the more time it is behind you the better off.

TT

[911Agent]

I agree that the more recent the worse off I am, but realistically what are my chances of being employed as a special agent at the 3 year mark? If I have to wait a few months to apply, I will, but what are my odds? Is this something an agency will hold very negatively against me if I apply just after 3 years?

[Time Traveller]

Not that your a bad person or anything. But unless you've got some talent that the agency that your looking at is in dire need of, you will be at the bottom of the heap.

The FBI would probably not look and I can't see many others, but the only way to find out is check the policies of the agency your looking at. Most of them have their drug policies either on line, or available by contacting their applicant coordinator in the local field office.

But my money is on you not being "most competitive" with that so recently in you background. In all honesty three years is not a long time.

But each agency is different. But the candidate pool at almost all of them is quite deep.

I went to the FBI's site and cut their policy, here it is:

http://www.fbi.gov/employment/booklet/general.htm

FBI Employment Drug Policy

The FBI is firmly committed to a drug-free society and workplace. Therefore, the unlawful use of drugs by FBI employees will not be tolerated. Furthermore, applicants for employment with the FBI who currently are using illegal drugs will be found unsuitable for employment. The FBI does not condone any prior unlawful drug use by applicants. The FBI realizes, however, some otherwise qualified applicants may have used drugs at some point in their past. The following policy sets forth the criteria for determining whether any prior drug use makes an applicant unsuitable for employment, balancing the needs of the FBI to maintain a drug-free workplace and the public integrity necessary to accomplish its law enforcement mission. Applicants who do not meet these criteria should not apply for the Special Agent position.

CRITERIA

A. An applicant who has used any illegal drug while employed in any law enforcement or prosecutorial position, or while employed in a position which carries with it a high level of responsibility or public trust, will be found unsuitable for employment.

B. An applicant who is discovered to have misrepresented his/her drug history in completing the application will be found unsuitable for employment.

C. An applicant who has sold any illegal drug for profit at any time will be found unsuitable for employment.

D. An applicant who has used any illegal drug (including anabolic steroids after February 27, 1991), other than marijuana, within the last ten years or more than five times in one's life will be found unsuitable for employment.

E. An applicant who has used marijuana within the past three years or more than a total of 15 times in one's life will be found unsuitable for employment.

To determine whether you meet the FBI's drug policy, please answer the following
questions:

1) Have you used marijuana at all within the last three years?

2) Have you used marijuana more than a total of 15 times in your life?

3) Have you used any other illegal drug (including anabolic steroids after February 27, 1991) at all in the past 10 years?

4) Have you used any other illegal drug (including anabolic steroids after February 27, 1991) more than a total of five times in your life?

5) Have you ever sold any illegal drug for profit?

6) Have you ever used an illegal drug (no matter how many times or how long ago) while in a law enforcement or prosecutorial position, or in a position which carries with it a high level of responsibility or public trust?

If you answered "YES" to any of these questions, you should NOT apply for the Special Agent position. They are immediate disqualifiers.

Good luck

TT

[jiggycj]

I guess the answer to your question is, quite simply, to be the most competitive, most outstanding applicant. ;)

[MacLeod]

This is not an easy question to answer even under the most simpliest of terms. Your situation, prior drug use, is one, if not the most blatant red flags. Since I doubt you'll find anyone on the board that will sit on your hiring board, there is absolutely no way to answer your question. To do so, would be purely speculative.

Having said, that the only answer I think that is helpful, quoting TT, is to apply. There tends to be an over confidence in some applicants and throughout their process they live in a World that enforces the notion that Federal Agencies have to hire them because they are so well qualified. This simply is not true. Prior drug usage, will always detract from an otherwise spotless BI and resume. This in no way is meant to be a label or testiment of personal character, it simply is a fact that it will be an issue during the hiring process.

The only other alternative is to fail to disclose the information (lie). I strongly discourage this, because you will be immediately disqualified from the position, and other agencies will find out the DQ.

Good luck, don't be dissauded. Apply to your local agencies, get some experience, and put TIME b/w you and your prior contraband use.

[MacLeod]

I wouldn't suggest you tell your recruiter(s) or the agents on your hiring panel that you think everyone in LE has lied about their past. It'd go over about as well as a fart in church. But don't take my word for it.....go ahead.....make somebody's day.

[ATF SAC]

Or in the immortal words of a friend and state trooper when we investigated the illegal sale of claymore mines together, "Son, it's ok to pee down our necks, my partner here and I are cops, we expect it. Just, goddamn it, stop trying to convince us its the warm spring rain."

[Time Traveller]

Originally posted by ATF SAC
"Son, it's ok to pee down our necks, my partner here and I are cops, we expect it. Just, goddamn it, stop trying to convince us its the warm spring rain."

Now that is a quote that I will remember!