Marijuana Users Would Get Chance at Government Jobs Under New Bill
A new bill would remove current or prior marijuana usage as a disqualifying condition for federal employment or a security clearance.
The Cannabis Users Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act, sponsored by Representatives Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Nancy Mace (R-SC), would prevent agencies from not hiring someone simply because they are a marijuana user.
In a statement, Rep. Raskin said the legislation will boost recruitment and brings the federal government in-line with other employers.
“Every year, qualified and dedicated individuals seeking to serve our country are unable to secure federal jobs and security clearances because the federal government has not caught up with the widely established legal use of medical and recreational cannabis,” said Rep. Raskin. “I am proud to partner with my friend Representative Mace to introduce the bipartisan CURE Act that will eliminate the draconian, failed and obsolete marijuana policies that prevent talented individuals from becoming honorable public servants in their own government.
The CURE Act is also retroactive and asks agencies to create a process to review past job or security clearance decisions that were denied due to marijuana usage, dating to January 1, 2008.
Agencies would need to reconsider such individual’s security clearance or employment application within 90 days if they find that they were denied because of marijuana use alone.
The bill has support among cannabis groups.
“Penalizing someone for drug use relies on an assumption that any drug use is problematic and that people who use drugs cannot be responsible employees. We know this is false. We hope this bill is just the start of other critical federal marijuana reforms,” said Drug Policy Alliance Director of the Office of Federal Affairs Maritza Perez Medina.
“We strongly support the CURE Act because it will bring federal employment policies into line with the views of most Americans,” said US Cannabis Council Executive Director Ed Conklin.
Thirty-eight states, the District of Columbia, and three territories allow medical marijuana. Twenty-three states allow recreational use.
Last fall, President Biden announced a blanket pardon on people convicted on federal charges of simple possession of marijuana and announced a review of whether it should still be under the Controlled Substances Act.
OPM meanwhile issued guidance in 2021 saying marijuana should not automatically be a condition for denying employment. However, OPM’s guidance still places marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance, which requires that federal employees do not use illegal drugs.
Last year, Rep. Raskin proposed an amendment that would have blocked cannabis usage as a disqualifier for security clearances only. That required a review of denials all the back to 1971. It was narrowly defeated on the House floor.