Will I automatically be disqualified from consideration if I openly admit smoking weed a few times (2-3 max) over 10 years ago while I was in HS. I'm in the process of applying for the FBI.
Also...I have a bunch of friends that smoke a lot...I do hang out with them on occasion. I'm nervous about: If asked by the examiner "do I do any illegal drugs?" I'm afraid I'll stress out and start thinking I'm guilty by association.
I'm NOT trying to trick the machine...I just want to be calm...I know my answers will be truthful.
The FBI's cutoff is 15 times. Before your polygraph exam, it would be wise to remember precisely how many times you used marijuana and to state that number instead of "2 or 3 times," or "a few times."
By the way, the truthfulness of your answers is no guarantee that you will pass. See The Lie Behind the Lie Detector (http://antipolygraph.org/pubs.shtml) for pointers on how to protect yourself against a false positive outcome.