Up In Smoke: FBI Won’t Change Rules On Pot Smoking Recruits

FBI Director Comey has been busy this week. Monday he was "grappling with the question" of how to amend the agency’s marijuana policies, but by Wednesday he was "absolutely dead set against using marijuana," and "did not say I’m going to change that ban."

These might seem like contradictory statements, but perhaps they are haute politics. He drew in the first audience by admitting there is a recruitment problem due to a strict stance against weed. But for the Senate he claimed he is "against using" MJ, which of course leaves room for him to be against it while hiring people who are for it, as if he were a religiously straight man willing to hire gays. Or for him to be welcoming of people who smoked up last month so long as they promise not to do it again. Finally, maybe "he" is not going to change the ban, but he probably hopes someone will, because he does need to hire and the field is full of grass.

My bet: three years from now the FBI will hire you so long as you don't smoke weed after applying, and in a decade they won't care so long as you don't get high on the job (as with drink). There will continue to be recruitment issues, not because of weed but because the agency is not seen as a cool place for young people to work.