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Government will continue to have major problems hiring some of the best people in the tech industry until they stop screening for past use of drugs, even soft d
by flyt 12y ago
Government will continue to have major problems hiring some of the best people in the tech industry until they stop screening for past use of drugs, even soft drugs like marijuana.
Considering that two states (Washington and Colorado) now make it legal for its citizens to purchase and consume marijuana from the age of 21 onward, it's ludicrous that the federal government can sustain itself by completely excluding the citizens of two states from holding federal jobs.
There are absolutely other structural and cultural problems that prevent government from attracting the best from industry, but an insistence on a drug-free past has already and will continue to be a show stopper until attitudes (and procurement requirements) change.
- RobotCaleb 12y agoThey're just excluding citizens of those two states with drug usage history. Unless you really do believe that, because it's legal, all citizens of those states use marijuana. In which case the above still holds true as that's not a correct belief. Not that I disagree with your sentiment.
- GVIrish 12y agoIf you don't hold a clearance weed usage won't really be a problem. And if you do apply for a clearance, past marijuana usage is not necessarily a disqualifier. What they're screening for is substance abuse that might be problematic enough that they could compromise your ability to keep secrets. And they want to see that you don't lie about past use. I know more than one person who has smoked weed in the past and still gained a clearance. But really I think the absurdly slow and convoluted gov't application/hiring process, lower pay, and paltry starting annual vacation are bigger deterrents to joining government IT.