Well it's a comparison. Not once on the security clearance paperwork is alcohol mentioned, while if you have smoked/eaten/etc. marijuana at ALL in the past 7 years, it's practically an instant deny unless it was under some exigent circumstance. You can even be denied if you don't partake but are close contacts with other marijuana users.

Obviously if someone is _addicted_ to either, that is a security risk. But the extent to which they reject people for recreational marijuana use is laughable.

Can't you just lie?

They contact all your close contacts listed on the paperwork. Lying also constitutes perjury in this case.

The unofficial advice I’ve heard is to not even bother with SC if you use weed. Generally, it will be found out. I looked into this as needing an SC was a possibility with my current job.

That is not wise. You do have to take a lie detector test, and they are actually good at reading the results.

So you don't think any alcoholics work for the NSA?

Not to mention, alcohol is a far more physiologically addictive substance.

So much tastier too.

> if they're addicted (to anything, really)

Like caffeine ?

I'm almost sure they have coffee machines in there.