Biden Administration Censures Staff Members Over Marijuana Use
A number of younger staff members in the Biden Administration have been either suspended or forced to work remotely due to histories of marijuana use, according to The Daily Beast,
Following initial promises to potential staff members that marijuana use would not disqualify them from government service, five staffers are no longer employed with a number of others being asked to resign over the past couple days.
For staffers that have already lost their positions, the White House stated that additional harder drug use was also at play with regards to their removal.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki made a statement on Twitter, saying that the administration had "worked with the security service to update the policies to ensure that past marijuana use wouldn't automatically disqualify staff from serving in the White House."
"As a result, more people will serve who would not have in the past with the same level of recent drug use," Psaki stated. "The bottom line is this: of the hundreds of people hired, only five people who had started working at the White House are no longer employed as a result of this policy."
While marijuana use is legal in several states across the country, including in the District of Columbia, it is still illegal at the federal level thus adding an extra barrier to the secret clearance process.
For all White House employees, an intense questionnaire regarding one's drug history is required for hiring in positions requiring a Top Secret security clearance.
As of now, the White House is granting waivers to employees who have had limited marijuana use in the past year, mainly to employees whose positions do not require top secret clearance.
This continues a long string of calls to overhaul this process for White House employees, as it's drug policies have disproportionately affected younger staffers in this process.