American federal employees with cannabis stocks could risk losing security clearance

American federal employees who have invested in cannabis and cannabis-related companies may encounter issues maintaining their security clearance, according to a new report.

While recreational cannabis is legal in nearly a dozen states (and medical cannabis in even more), it remains illegal on a federal level.

 

 

One employee of the Department of Defense (DoD) who listed cannabis-related investments on his financial disclosure form was instructed to ditch the stocks immediately, according to Timothy Maimone of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 170.

“They basically wrote him a letter saying you’re violating the public trust by owning stock in this marijuana company,” Maimone told MarketWatch recently. “They gave him 30 days to fix the problem or we’ll pull your clearance.” The employee complied, selling the shares, and managed to maintain his clearance without further incident.

A memo posted to Facebook and Reddit allegedly penned by lawyers for the DoD said that officials from the U.S. Air Force had “received numerous inquiries regarding the purchase of marijuana-related stocks,” and that the Pentagon “treats investments in marijuana-related companies as ‘involvement,’ [with illegal drugs] which is prohibited.”

“Owning marijuana-related stocks is a reportable incident,” the document continued, and DoD officials “will determine if the ‘involvement’ raises questions about the individual’s judgment, reliability, trustworthiness, and willingness to comply with laws, rules, and regulations, including federal laws.”

Security regulations also prohibit the consumption of recreational cannabis, which is a Schedule I narcotic under federal law.

The truth is, however, that the DoD does not currently have a policy regarding cannabis investments in place, despite news reports to the contrary. In fact, there is no set DoD policy on ownership of marijuana stocks, and recent news reports on the issue have “incorrectly cited” a policy change, according to a rep from the DoD.

“While, currently, no official DoD guidance specific to financial involvement in marijuana exists, the Department continues to research the topic,” said DoD spokeswoman Lt. Col. Audricia M. Harris. “Any changes will be addressed through normal policy update procedures,” and noting that there are numerous factors that determine security clearance.

At best, the waters are muddy for federal employees seeking to invest in the currently-booming industry.

“Recognizing that many states have legalized marijuana, it is still something that is prohibited under federal law,” Carol Thompson, a partner at The Federal Practice Group, told Federal News Network last month. “Holding a federal security clearance with one of the adjudicated guidelines being involvement with drugs or drug use, then purchasing any kind of stock of that nature — especially if it’s intentional or knowing — could be seen as supporting something, under federal law, that is still illegal.”