--- title: FBI Won't Change Rules On Marijuana Smoking Recruits description: Want to be a Fed or a spy but you inhaled, like, last night? On Monday, FBI chief James Comey seemed to open the door... canonical: https://time.com/107525/up-in-smoke-fbi-wont-change-rules-on-pot-smoking-recruits/ author: Massimo Calabresi article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-21T16:20:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T11:31:44.168Z article:section: Politics og:title: No, You Can't Smoke Pot And Work For The FBI og:description: FBI Director James Comey Backtracks On His Suggestion That The Bureau Might Loosen Drug Rules To Help Fight Cybercrime og:url: https://time.com/107525/up-in-smoke-fbi-wont-change-rules-on-pot-smoking-recruits/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c234d946ed7ffc1/698690603bc9992b3e1a3967/fbi-marijuana.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5221 og:image:height: 2937 og:image:alt: Marijuana og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: No, You Can't Smoke Pot And Work For The FBI twitter:description: FBI Director James Comey Backtracks On His Suggestion That The Bureau Might Loosen Drug Rules To Help Fight Cybercrime twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c234d946ed7ffc1/698690603bc9992b3e1a3967/fbi-marijuana.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Up In Smoke: FBI Won't Change Rules On Pot Smoking Recruits > Sponsored content. 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There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=786bb3e8-55c7-47db-b52c-996a212cd0e8&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Massimo Calabresi](https://time.com/author/massimo-calabresi/) and [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) May 21, 2014 4:20 PM UTC  Marijuana buds for sale Marijuana buds for sale Stuart Dee—Getty Images by [Massimo Calabresi](https://time.com/author/massimo-calabresi/) and [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) May 21, 2014 4:20 PM UTC Want to be a Fed or a spy but you inhaled, like, last night? On Monday, FBI chief James Comey [seemed to open the door](http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2014/05/20/director-comey-fbi-grappling-with-hiring-policy-concerning-marijuana/) for pot smokers when he told the American Bar Association’s annual white-collar crime conference that the bureau might be relaxing its rules for hiring, thanks to the need for talented white hat hackers. “I have to hire a great work force to compete with those cyber criminals and some of those kids want to smoke weed on the way to the interview,” Mr. Comey said. But in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning, Comey slammed the door on any dramatic changes to the FBI’s policies on its employees smoking marijuana. “I am absolutely dead set against using marijuana,” Comey said in response to a question from Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, who worried Comey was dismissing the seriousness of marijuana use. “I did not say I’m going to change that ban,” Comey said. The FBI policy was [loosened](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-08-01-fbi%5FN.htm) in 2007 to allow those who hadn’t smoked pot in the last three years to qualify for hiring. Previously, anyone who had smoked pot more than 15 times had been disqualified. The Wall Street Journal reported that a conference goer Monday asked Mr. Comey about a friend who had shied away from applying because of the current marijuana policy policy. “He should go ahead and apply,” Comey responded, according to the paper. As a service to all the would-be Feds out there with a taste for the occasional spliff, here is a quick guide to the current policies of some of the nation’s top law enforcement and intelligence agencies: [FBI](https://www.fbijobs.gov/52.asp) --- > “” --- [CIA](https://www.cia.gov/careers/faq) --- > “” --- [NSA](http://www.nsa.gov/careers/FAQs/index.shtml#isNSA%5F10) --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/107525/up-in-smoke-fbi-wont-change-rules-on-pot-smoking-recruits/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/107525/up-in-smoke-fbi-wont-change-rules-on-pot-smoking-recruits/"},"headline":"Up In Smoke: FBI Won't Change Rules On Pot Smoking Recruits","datePublished":"2014-05-21T16:20:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T11:31:44.168Z","description":"Want to be a Fed or a spy but you inhaled, like, last night? 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