The logic upon which you base your position is about as circular as a lunar orbit. It is basically:

“Polygraphers must lie to you in order to find out if your are lying, and therefore they are not “duping” you. As long as there are people willing to lie applying for Government jobs, polygraphy is justified.”

You could use a refresher course in deductive reasoning and logic.

Of course I would not have made a substantive admission if I knew beforehand that it was implausible for a polygraph to discern a lie. Who would? Answer: “No one”. What would be one’s motivation for revealing information that knowingly would get him DQ’ed? Answer: “None”.

This has little to do with whether or not someone is willing to lie to get a job. 99% of all people are willing to do that. In fact, as I pointed out, the very nature of the job in question requires a willingness to be deceptive. Hell, it should be a mandated requirement!

What it has to do with is that both the process for determining deception and the criterion for DQ’ing based upon what amounts to be human instinct flawed. Yes, I took two drags off a joint two years ago and yes I did not disclose this relevant information until tricked into doing so. Now suppose I had was a mole trying to infiltrate a national security agency? Do you suppose I’d admit to that? Do you assume I wouldn’t know how to beat the box? Or perhaps I should just be an honest guy and not apply for a job? Get real.

If you put my admission into perspective with those of Aldrich Ames, and the fact that I couldn’t get through a polygraph/interrogation but he could, you just might see the ridiculousness of it all I think.

Not to mention the fact that I did eventually admit to it when confronted. Why would I do that? Guilt. A desire to be completely honest. I revealed it knowing quite well that it would likely get me DQ’ed. But does that get taken into consideration? Not likely.

On someone like me, a polygraph test would only work once. I’ve completely lost my fear of the box, and I’m one of the good guys. Doubtful a person who was truly guilty of anything significant and who wasn’t gullible would reveal his crimes under the poly.  If I were to get called back for a re-poly it would be a different story the second time around. I guarantee the charts would show “truth” and the polygrapher would get nothing of substance from me. If he failed me it would be based solely upon instinct.