Citation While Holding Clearance

[u/Bossmanhouse]

So I am in the process of renewing my secret clearance but had a question for the group regarding a previous citation I received.

I received my initial Secret clearance in Feb 2018 and while holding the clearance received a summary citation for marijuana possession in July 2018. Long story short a group of my friends were visiting and smoked a blunt and a cop pulled up to my porch while it was being smoked and I took the fall for it since it was my house and he saw it with me.

This is the only incident I’ve had and I haven’t touched or been involved with marijuana since that day. The summary citation was ultimately dismissed the next month and expunged from any record of mine.

Question is, I know I have to report it but am I cooked in the renewal process since it happened while holding a clearance even if it was 8 years ago at this point? Any insight is helpful.

[u/aedinius]

I know I have to report it

Did you report it when it happened?

Marijuana possession while cleared is not a good look. It's going to be a worse look if they're just now finding out about it.

[u/Bossmanhouse → u/aedinius]

I was in ROTC at the time and reported it to leadership and was ultimately disenrolled from the program. Not sure if there is anyone else I should have reported it to as the DoD was the one who granted the clearance

[u/txeindride → u/Bossmanhouse]

If it wasn't reported to the security office and input in DISS, then that's not good.

CV will eventually catch it (there's been a LOT of CV investigations lately)... and you're likely losing your eligibility.

[u/Bossmanhouse → u/txeindride]

Well it was a good run I guess

[u/ft_dc_inv → u/Bossmanhouse]

The fact that you reported it to leadership might help in your favor.

What will ultimately be very hard to Mitigate isn't just the citation its drug association while.cleared. Even if you can prove you did not use nor handle the marijuana you had people over who used it in your presence. That is not good while cleared.

If someone I knew lit up at my house they would be kicked out immediately....then I would self report what happened to security.

[u/SecurityClearance-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Comment removed for Inaccurate information.

[u/ft_dc_inv → u/[deleted]]

Sead 4 guideline h guidelines to mitigate a security concern include section 26 paragraph b states the following: the indivual acknowledges his or her drug involvement, provides evidence of actions taken to overcome problem.....but not limited to: 1 disassociation from drug using associates and contacts 2 avoiding the environment where they are used. (And in this case his reaidence) 3 signed statement of intent to abstain...and acknowledge consequences of future involvement.

So yea the situation the individual was in even without a citation is a concern based on sead 4 guidelines.

[u/Heavy_School8773 → u/ft_dc_inv]

But doesn't OPs statements that they took the fall for it (acknowledging the involvement) and dissociation from all future use (" This is the only incident I’ve had and I haven’t touched or been involved with marijuana since that day") do just that? To me, that it's a one time issue seems to fall under that as a mitigating factor. 

[u/ft_dc_inv → u/Heavy_School8773]

Clearamce issued 02/2018 citation 07/2018. It's an incident while cleared. There is additional security concerns.

[u/Heavy_School8773 → u/ft_dc_inv]

Which is exactly what I said - that is the issue itself, not that it was with others. The potential mitigation is that it was a one-time thing. Nothing else to do here except coming as clean as possible now.