The White House has fired five people who previously used marijuana. This was announced by the press secretary of the President of the United States Jen Psaki on Twitter.
At the same time, she noted that the administration of US President Joe Biden promised to consider easing the corresponding restriction. That is why only five people out of several hundred recruited were fired.
“We announced a few weeks ago that the White House is working with the security services to update the policy so that past marijuana use does not automatically lead to employee suspension in the White House,” Psaki wrote.
It is noted that marijuana is now legalized in several states, but is banned at the federal level. The fact that a number of White House employees in the past may have used a drug may have become known from the questionnaires that applicants fill out, and as a result of an FBI audit.
“This is an absurd policy that will prevent law-abiding people, especially blacks, from pursuing a career in public service. It is all the more unfair that many of these officers have applied for security clearance, knowing that their past use of marijuana would not be prosecuted, ”Rep. Roh Khanna, quoted by The Daily Beast.
Earlier, in February 2021, the General Assembly of the US state of Virginia approved a bill to legalize the recreational use of marijuana from 2024, and retail sales of the drug will also begin.
If Governor Ralph Nortem approves the bill, Virginia will become the 15th US state to legalize marijuana and the first southern state to approve such use. Nortem has already said that he welcomes the amendments.
In December 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to legalize marijuana in the country. Parliamentarians supported the bill, which is designed to decriminalize cannabis nationwide and remove convictions from citizens convicted of crimes related to the possession and sale of this drug.
At the same time, Republican senators do not support this bill. Therefore, the law is unlikely to be passed in the near future by both houses of Congress.