Legislation to prevent prior or current cannabis use from becoming grounds for failing to receive security clearance or for being found unsuitable for federal employment was introduced in the U.S. House on Tuesday.
The bill includes bipartisan support, sponsored by Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD).
The Cannabis Users Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act will also allow someone who has previously been denied a security clearance or a federal job opportunity based on cannabis use the chance to have that denial reviewed.
“Every year, qualified and dedicated individuals seeking to serve our country are unable to secure federal jobs and security clearances because the federal government has not caught up with the widely established legal use of medical and recreational cannabis. I am proud to partner with my friend Representative Mace to introduce the bipartisan CURE Act that will eliminate the draconian, failed and obsolete marijuana policies that prevent talented individuals from becoming honorable public servants in their own government.” — Raskin in a press release
The proposal has been endorsed by the Drug Policy Alliance, the Due Process Institute, Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), and the U.S. Cannabis Council.
In a statement, Morgan Fox, political director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), called the current federal policies to deny cannabis consumers some federal jobs “discriminatory” and that the rule “unnecessarily shrinks the talent pool available for these important jobs.” Fox added that the CURE Act would replace the current policies with “fair and sensible hiring and clearance practices that will put America on much stronger footing on the global stage.”
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