Biden against investing in marijuana companies.
The Biden administration is expanding its employee conduct guidelines to potentially deny security clearance to individuals who have invested in companies that are involved in the marijuana business. This means that investing in weed companies may no longer be the only potential impediment to getting a job with security clearance in the Biden administration – smoking weed could now trip up applicants, too.
This new directive from the Biden administration mirrors the stance against marijuana taken by the Trump administration. In January 2018, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded an Obama-era policy that had allowed states to legalize marijuana without fear of federal interference. This policy change gave prosecutors more authority to pursue cases against marijuana businesses and users.
Impediment in getting a job if investing in weed company.
While the Biden administration has not gone as far as the Trump administration in its crackdown on marijuana, it is clear that the former Vice President does not support investing in the cannabis industry. In a recent interview, Biden was asked about his thoughts on marijuana legalization, and he replied that he is “not comfortable” with it. He went on to say that marijuana is a “gateway drug” and that more research is needed before making any decisions about legalizing it.
So far, the Biden administration has not taken any concrete steps to crack down on marijuana businesses or users. However, with Biden’s stance against investing in weed companies, this will likely be one of the areas where he takes a harder line than the Obama administration. Applicants for security clearance should take this into account if they are thinking about investing in a cannabis company.
