FBI ‘Grappling’ With Hiring Policy Concerning Marijuana
blogs.wsj.com
blogs.wsj.com
I used to idly browse pollingreport.com a lot, looking for issues where a majority of American opinion didn't line up with the general political climate. Environmental issues are perhaps another area where we could see a major shift in the near future.
I see Obama's election as a harbinger of these changes (I'm not giving him credit for these changes but instead saying he was an early symptom/beneficiary). To put a demographic spin on it: the baby boomers (Clinton/Bush/Obama) roiled the pot but, as in the 60s, didn't really change a lot themselves. But the folks behind the boomers _did_ make a difference, taking advantage of things to encourage change.
And, as much fun as I have making fun of "stoopid 'mericans": anti-intellectual conspiracy nuts, anti-evolution folks and the like, I do think the bulk of Americans are basically good people. So when a lot of kids are willing to stand up and say "hey, this isn't fair", plenty of others will agree, even if shamefacedly, and change their vote to be less unkind even when nobody's looking.
It will be funny if Hillary Clinton is elected president: likely the first and last baby boomer presidents will be Clintons. I wonder if the country will become more conservative again. It seems like it progresses in a systolic fashion.
At the University I went to, anyone who expressed interest in security and had good grades could get a ridiculously generous scholarship (tuition + $20k stipend + books + $1000 for conferences, and a guaranteed summer internship). A catch to this is you must be able to get a clearance, and if your clearance is denied you lose the scholarship and have to pay back the money.
Basically, all the students who were not into that kind of stuff went straight for it and had jobs at 3 letter agencies on graduation.
Yeah a lot of security people like marijuana but a lot of them don't.
The way I looked at it was "If I'm going to choose to smoke marijuana I have to be twice as good as everyone else in order to ensure I get a job that does not require a security clearance" (which is odd because I later chose not to smoke marijuana).
But...there are plenty out there who already have no problem getting jobs at these agencies after being clean for 1year or just not being interested in those things.
yes, there are non-marijuana users that are fit for those jobs. yes, the fbi could pay better to attract talent.
this is a fed agency (the fed agency) saying they are thinking about letting crazy wingnut pot smokers help them defend america.
this is a meaninful change in organizational behavior that is worthy of note.