I used to be in a situation where I had a high level security clearance. I hated it. I hated the attitudes of my coworkers. Getting out of this line of work was the best thing I ever did in my life. I no longer have the "gut wrenching" B.S. that you are going through now. I would just keep my mouth shut about puffing on a few joints and let the cards fall where they may. If you are denied a clearance, it will not be the end of your career. It might even be the beginning of a new stress free life for you. "illegitimi non-carborundum!"

I was issued a DoD Secret security clearance in June of 2009. Recently, I was given the opportunity to get my Top Secret clearance from another institution, which included a mandatory polygraph test.

Now back in college (which is within the 7 year time period for me) I experimented with marijuana once or twice, but I ended up deciding that the drug wasn't for me and I've never used it again. When I filled out the SF 86 for my original secret clearance, I did not report my drug use out of sheer embarrassment. I justified it because it was so long ago and I never planned on using any controlled substance again.

When doing the paperwork for my top secret clearance, I was confronted with a huge problem. I'm a terrible, horrible liar, and I'm almost certain that my guilty conscious would cause me to fail a polygraph if I was asked a question about any illegal drug use. So in an effort to prevent a denial, I made the tough decision to report my drug use on my updated SF 86.

The forms are mailed in and being processed now, so I can't change my answer. But I'm still torn with a gut-wrenching fear that this will be the end of my career. Is the fact that I lied on my original SF 86 enough for the government to deny me the new clearance? Even worse, will they revoke my old secret clearance? Would I have been better off just sticking with my original story and attempting the polygraph test?

Aside from this poor decision that I made almost two years ago, my SF 86 is totally clean of anything derogatory. Please help me get some peace of mind while I wait to hear back from the agency processing my request.