I used to work at a headshop. I was the store manager and the only employee who did not use mj. The store was clean and run by non-durggies but the fact is I sold bongs for six years. How will this affect my application?

justawhispr,

Dippity is right in that "in theory" it really should not, as "headshops" are legal businesses granted for tobacco, but we all know what they really use bongs for.  Anyway, I digress and get back to the actual agency and more importantly the investigator and oral board members opinions.  I have a friend who has been a LE officer for the last 7 or so years and WAAAYYY back used to be a bouncer at quite a few clubs.  In every oral board he has interviewed on he has been grilled about his work as a bouncer and how they are sure he was a thoughtless brute that beat people up and took advantage of drunk girls.   

Is this the case?  of course not, but people seem to have their minds set on what bouncers are, even if they have been or currently are LE officers with a perfect record in the agency for which they work.  Obviously it didn't matter for the agency in which he works now, but one took a particular disliking to it and the consenus is that he was not likely hired due to that.

Having been an oral board member on many oral boards myself, I have to say that I would probably grill you on this issue quite a bit.  My contention would be that you continued to work in this place knowing that those you worked with were regular drug users and point to how this could hurt your credibility on the stand should you be hired and have to testify in cases.  Can I say that I would not hire you?  No, that would depend on how I "felt" about the honesty you presented and how you interviewed.   

It is not a lost cause, but you will have to fight harder for it.