White House press secretary Jen Psaki posted a post confirming the dismissal after the Daily Beast reported that dozens of employees were suspended, asked to resign or were put in a remote program because of marijuana use in the past.
“A few weeks ago, we announced that the White House has been working with the security agency to update policies ensuring that past use of marijuana will not leave employees working in the White House out of work ” – from Mrs. Psaki’s post.
“The most important thing is: out of hundreds of people hired, only 5 people are fired because of this policy” – she added in the second post.
A White House official revealed the White House is granting a waiver on the basis of a requirement that employees of the President’s Executive Office are eligible for security clearance to work at the presidential palace.
Under the new policy, to be granted exceptional rights, employees must agree to discontinue marijuana use, agree to a pledge not to use marijuana during government employment, and to conduct random tests. These employees must work remotely until their past use of cannabis meets the standards set by the Human Security Division.