FBI Eases Hiring Policies for Marijuana Users
The FBI has officially updated its hiring policies regarding marijuana use. From now on, simply testing positive for marijuana metabolites during mandatory employment screenings will no longer be a sufficient reason to reject a job candidate. The agency will not impose any sanctions on applicants who voluntarily disclose their history of marijuana use during interviews.
However, these changes unfortunately do not apply to current FBI employees, who are still prohibited from using recreational marijuana while on duty.
Previous and Updated Guidelines
Until recently, the FBI’s website warned that potential agents must avoid marijuana use for three years prior to applying for a position. Now, the agency states it will consider applicants who have used marijuana up to one year before their interview. Importantly, admitting to marijuana use or related products will no longer automatically hurt a candidate’s chances of being hired.
Additionally, the agency will not take into account any marijuana use that occurred before the applicant turned 18 during the selection process.
Policy Changes Announced Quietly
It’s worth noting that the FBI did not make a public announcement about these policy changes. Instead, the details were quietly updated on the agency’s website without any press releases or major statements.
CBD Use Permitted for Employees
While the FBI will continue to restrict its employees from using legal recreational marijuana, it will now allow them to use non-psychoactive cannabis components for therapeutic purposes. In other words, agents and staff are permitted to use CBD products—widely available extracts that do not contain significant amounts of THC.
Adapting to Legalization Trends
These changes indicate that the FBI is gradually adapting to the new reality of impending full legalization. The first signs of reform appeared back in 2014, when then-director James Comey, under President Obama, expressed interest in relaxing marijuana use requirements for both potential and current employees. He noted that many young agents, consultants, and especially cybersecurity experts are active consumers of the partially legalized plant.
“In fact, we’re turning away these experts because of their marijuana use, effectively pushing them into the hands of cybercriminals,” Comey said at the time. “We’re working against ourselves with this kind of hiring policy.”
Strict Rules Remain for Other Substances
Despite Comey’s comments, the FBI did not officially change its rules regarding the use of other banned psychoactive substances. To this day, any evidence of prior use of illegal drugs—or deliberately hiding such information—is grounds for rejecting an applicant and blacklisting them from the agency.
On the other hand, unlike other federal agencies and the military, the FBI last year formally allowed its employees to use purified CBD extracts without psychoactive components. Other government agencies, including some independent ones like NASA, still maintain a zero-tolerance policy for cannabinoids, making no distinction between THC and CBD use.