PSH-21-0041 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On June 22, 2021, an Administrative Judge (AJ) determined that an Individual should not be granted access authorization under 10 C.F.R. Part 710. The Individual submitted a Questionnaire for National Security Positions (QNSP) in which he admitted resigning from an Employer after testing positive Hydrocodone in 2018, and that he had sought treatment in December 2016 after he became dependent on Hydrocodone prescribed to him by a doctor for shoulder pain. However, the QNSP asked the Individual: "In the last seven (7) years, have you illegally used any drugs or controlled substances" and "In the last seven (7) years have you intentionally engaged in the misuse of prescription drugs, regardless of whether or not the drugs were prescribed for you or someone else" The Individual responded "no" to both these questions. The Local Security Office (LSO) asserted that the Individual had answered these questions with deceptive intent. However, the AJ found that the Individual had inadvertently answered the two questions incorrectly. The Individual further claimed that his positive drug test in 2018 resulted from his ingestion of pain medication provided by his father which the Individual mistakenly believed to be aspirin, that this was the last time he used opiates, and that his last intentional use of opiates occurred in December 2016.

Because of the concerns raised by the Individual's opiate misuse and treatment, the LSO requested that the Individual be evaluated by a Psychologist (Psychologist) who interviewed the Individual, in September 2019, and immediately sent him for a drug screening test. The urine sample provided by the Individual on that date tested positive for Hydrocodone indicating that he had used Hydrocodone sometime during the previous two days. After conducting her interview of the Individual (in which the Individual had informed her that he last ingested Hydrocodone in May 2018) and receiving the results of the drug screening test, the Psychologist issued a report of her findings in which she opined that the Individual met the criteria for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) Moderate set forth in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual - Fifth Edition (DSM-5). The Psychologist further indicated that the Individual needed to demonstrate the ability to abstain from opiate use for at least 12 months, and attend Narcotics Anonymous (or a similar program) on a weekly basis in order to show that he had been rehabilitated or reformed from his OUD and that his prognosis was favorable.

At the Hearing, the Individual attempted to show that he did not intentionally provide false information to the LSO or the Psychologist during his investigation; has not intentionally used opiates since December 2016; and has fully complied with the Psychologist's treatment recommendations. To this end, he reiterated his claim that the May 2018 positive drug test for Hydrocodone occurred when he accepted pain medication from his father thinking it was aspirin. The Individual further claimed, without any corroborating evidence, that the September 2019 positive test result occurred because the laboratory mixed up several urine samples. After hearing the Individual's testimony, the AJ concluded that the Individual had not submitted any evidence, other than his own uncorroborated testimony, in support of his assertions that he has not used Hydrocodone since May 2018 and that he has been successfully rehabilitated from his OUD, and further found that the Individual's testimony to this effect lacked credibility. Accordingly, the AJ concluded that the Individual had intentionally provided false information during the adjudication of his security clearance, had used Hydrocodone as recently as September 30, 2019, and had not shown that he has been reformed of rehabilitated from his OUD. Accordingly, the Administrative Judge concluded that the Individual had not mitigated the security concerns asserted by the LSO and that he should not be granted access authorization. OHA Case No. PSH-21-0041 (Steven L. Fine).