October 10, 2005: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Intelligence Issues: Drug Use: Marijuana: The Olympian: Colombia RPCV Edward Lee Howard defected to the Soviet Union in 1985 after he was accused of espionage activities that spy hunters believe were driven by resentment over his forced resignation after he failed a polygraph test and disclosed his drug use in Colombia during 1975 when he was a Peace Corps volunteer
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October 10, 2005: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Intelligence Issues: Drug Use: Marijuana: The Olympian: Colombia RPCV Edward Lee Howard defected to the Soviet Union in 1985 after he was accused of espionage activities that spy hunters believe were driven by resentment over his forced resignation after he failed a polygraph test and disclosed his drug use in Colombia during 1975 when he was a Peace Corps volunteer
Colombia RPCV Edward Lee Howard defected to the Soviet Union in 1985 after he was accused of espionage activities that spy hunters believe were driven by resentment over his forced resignation after he failed a polygraph test and disclosed his drug use in Colombia during 1975 when he was a Peace Corps volunteer
An agency's attitude toward drug use has been blamed for unexpected consequences. The CIA forced one of its officers, Edward Lee Howard, to resign in May 1983 after he failed a polygraph test and disclosed his drug use in Colombia during 1975 when he was a Peace Corps volunteer. Howard defected to the Soviet Union in 1985 after he was accused of espionage activities that spy hunters believe were driven by resentment over his forced resignation.
Colombia RPCV Edward Lee Howard defected to the Soviet Union in 1985 after he was accused of espionage activities that spy hunters believe were driven by resentment over his forced resignation after he failed a polygraph test and disclosed his drug use in Colombia during 1975 when he was a Peace Corps volunteer
FBI may go easy on applicants' past pot smoking
BY TED BRIDIS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- The FBI, famous for its straight-laced crime-fighting image, is considering whether to relax its hiring rules over how often applicants could have used marijuana or other illegal drugs earlier in life.
The Olympian - Click Here
Some senior FBI managers have been deeply frustrated that they could not hire applicants who acknowledged occasional marijuana use in college, but in some cases already perform top-secret work at other government agencies, such as the CIA or State Department.
FBI Director Robert Mueller will make the final decision. "We can't say when or if this is going to happen, but we are exploring the possibility," spokesman Stephen Kodak said
The change would ease limits about how often -- and how many years ago -- applicants for jobs such as intelligence analysts, linguists, computer specialists, accountants and others had used illegal drugs.
[Excerpt]
An agency's attitude toward drug use has been blamed for unexpected consequences. The CIA forced one of its officers, Edward Lee Howard, to resign in May 1983 after he failed a polygraph test and disclosed his drug use in Colombia during 1975 when he was a Peace Corps volunteer. Howard defected to the Soviet Union in 1985 after he was accused of espionage activities that spy hunters believe were driven by resentment over his forced resignation.
"I had been totally honest about each and every misdeed in my past, including my drug use in South America and my occasional abuse of alcohol," Howard wrote in his 1995 memoirs. He died in July 2002 at his home outside Moscow.
Some other federal agencies also have tough marijuana policies. The Drug Enforcement Administration will not hire applicants as agents who used illegal drugs, although it makes exceptions for admitting "limited youthful and experimental use of marijuana." The DEA, however, permits no prior use of harder drugs.
"Recreational marijuana use is a fact of life nowadays," said Mark Zaid, a Washington lawyer who has represented people rejected for FBI jobs over drugs. "It doesn't stop Supreme Court justices from getting on the bench and doesn't stop presidents from getting elected, so why should it stop someone from getting hired by the FBI?
When this story was posted in September 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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Story Source: The Olympian
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Colombia; Intelligence Issues; Drug Use; Marijuana
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