PSH-17-0084 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On February 21, 2018, an OHA Administrative Judge issued a decision in which he determined that an individual’s DOE access authorization should be restored.  The individual, submitted a Sensitive Compartmentalized Information (SCI) Eligibility Form to the Local Security Office (LSO) in which he reported that he had used marijuana on two occasions during a time period in which he held a DOE security clearance. The Administrative Judge, found that the security concerns raised by the individual’s use of marijuana were resolved by the individual’s self-reporting of his marijuana use, the limited nature of the individual’s marijuana use, his decision to permanently abstain from marijuana use, his decision to avoid the environment in which he had used marijuana, and his decision to stop associating with illegal drug users. After carefully considering all of the evidence in the record, the Administrative Judge found that the Individual’s self-reporting of his marijuana use, and subsequent conduct during the present proceeding, shows that his judgment, reliability, and trustworthiness have improved greatly since September 2016, when his last use of marijuana occurred, and now suffice to allow him to maintain a DOE security clearance. Therefore, the Administrative Judge found that the individual had resolved all of the security concerns raised by DOE.  OHA Case No. PSH-17-0084 (Steven L. Fine).