Current users of marijuana would still be barred from federal employment and denied security clearances. Frank Rumpenhorst/picture alliance via Getty Images
The DOOBIE Act would codify federal hiring policy for former marijuana users
The bill, introduced by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., would enshrine in law that past marijuana use cannot be the sole basis for denying federal job applicants a position or security clearance.
The head of the Senate’s panel overseeing federal workforce issues announced Wednesday that he had introduced legislation to codify the recent loosening of hiring and security clearance restrictions on past marijuana use in law.
Shortly after Biden’s inauguration in 2021, the Office of Personnel Management issued new guidance stating that a federal job applicant’s past marijuana use can no longer be the sole factor behind the decision not to hire them. Similarly, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence updated its rules to clarify that past marijuana consumption cannot be the only reason behind the denial of a security clearance for federal workers and contractors.
The Dismantling Outdated Obstacles and Barriers to Individual Employment—or DOOBIE—Act (S. 4711), introduced by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, would codify that guidance in federal law. Currently, the policy could be rolled back by a future administration with a similar issuance of new guidance.
Current users of marijuana would still be barred from federal employment and denied security clearances, as its possession and consumption is still ostensibly a federal crime. But the move to make the Biden administration’s policy change permanent reflects the shifting landscape on the drug.
Currently, marijuana is legal for recreational use in 24 states, while 38 states have authorized its use for medicinal purposes. The Drug Enforcement Administration is currently soliciting public comment on its proposal to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug, which would loosen federal restrictions from its current status as a Schedule I substance alongside heroin and cocaine.
In a statement, Peters said that increasingly the omission of former marijuana users poses a disadvantage to federal agencies trying to compete for talent with private sector employers.
“As we work to build a highly skilled federal workforce, it’s crucial that the federal government modernizes its hiring practices to reflect evolving laws and societal norms,” Peters said. “My bill will take the commonsense step to align federal statutes with existing agency guidance and ensure that talented individuals are not automatically disqualified from service solely due to past marijuana use. By providing this much needed clarity for agencies and applicants, we will ensure that the federal government can recruit and retain the best and brightest to serve our nation.”