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News that White House staffers were let go from their jobs last week in part because of past use of marijuana highlights the need for updates to our policies — and conversations — on substance use.
Recreational use of marijuana is legal in 15 states, including Maine, and Washington, D.C. However, use and sale of marijuana remains a federal crime.
This is what partially snagged the White House officials, although a spokesperson for the Biden administration said there were additional circumstances in the five cases recently reported in the press. Because of the federal prohibition on marijuana use, staffers who acknowledged smoking pot are unable to get security clearances. These requirements can be — and have been — waived on a case-by-case basis.
There has to be a better way.
In a culture, and in a time, when we appropriately celebrate recovery from substance use, the United States should have more enlightened policies around marijuana use, and other substances as well.
We are not equating using marijuana, which as we mentioned is legal in 15 states, with use of drugs like heroin or cocaine. However, it seems very retrograde that we can have affirming conversations about past substance use — as we certainly should — and yet, at the same time, we often continue to stigmatize marijuana use. This is a throwback to the silly worries about “stoners” and “pot heads” who are too lazy or confused to function.
Clearly, we are not advocating marijuana use on the job or in the workplace. But adults should be able to use legal substances on their own time without fear of outsized repercussions.
America has come a long way from the days of Bill Clinton’s tortured admission of smoking marijuana but not inhaling. We’ve had a president (Barack Obama) who admitted using cocaine and marijuana. And, while short on specifics, former President George W. Bush talked of being drug-free for 25 years in 1999.
When then-President Donald Trump went after now-President Joe Biden’s son Hunter during their first debate during the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden responded by telling the world how proud he is of Hunter.
“My son, like a lot of people at home, had a drug problem,” he said. “He’s overtaking it. He’s fixed it. He’s worked on it. And I’m proud of him. I’m proud of my son.”
We understand that the president, and his staff, have to follow federal rules about substance use. The current situation, however, offers a good time to talk about how these requirements are outdated and to advocate for a smarter, more compassionate approach to marijuana and other substances like cocaine and heroin.
Even in Maine, where recreational marijuana has been legal for four years, an employee can be disciplined or lose their job for pot use, if it is deemed to affect their work performance or if the employee is required to undergo drug testing, especially to meet federal requirements. This at least makes a connection between marijuana use and job performance.
There are better employee protections for medical marijuana here in the state, which has been legal in Maine for more than 20 years.
Given changing state laws and the growing understanding that past substance use isn’t a hindrance to future success — even as president of the U.S. — it is time to re-evaluate laws and rules that unduly punish people for any types of substance use.
