FBI to potentially amend marijuana use policy in recruitment of hackers and programmers

YOU may think the FBI is a straight-laced law enforcement agency, but the organisation is thinking of hiring pot-smoking hackers and programmers.

Retail marijuana grows at 3D Cannabis Center, in Denver, Thursday, May 8, 2014. Frustrated by the cash-heavy aspect of its new marijuana industry, Colorado is trying a long-shot bid to create a financial system devoted to the pot business. But according to many industry and regulatory officials, Colorado's plan to move the weed industry away from cash to easily auditable banking accounts won't work. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

THE FBI may be relaxing its rules about hiring those that are more relaxed.

Faced with the challenge of having to fill 2000 positions this year, many of them in cybercrime, the US federal law enforcement agency has conceded it may have to bend its rules on pot-smoking, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Especially if the FBI hopes to combat increasingly sophisticated cybercrime by hiring top-notch hackers and programmers, a group which boasts more marijuana aficionados than some other profession.

FBI directors James B. Comey told the White Collar Crime Institute annual conference the bureau may have to loosen up its current policy, which dictates you can’t work for the organisation if you’ve consumed marijuana in the past three years.

FBI director James Comey concedes the agency is revisiting its marijuana use policy.

“I have to hire a great work force to compete with those cyber criminals,” Mr Comey said to the conference. “And some of those kids want to smoke weed on the way to the interview.”

He said the agency was considering ways to amend the existing marijuana use policy.

One conference attendee told Mr Comey that a hacker “friend” had once thought about applying for the FBI but had been put off because of its pot policy. Mr Comey said his friend should “go ahead and apply” anyway.

But Mr Comey’s remark didn’t sit well with a Republican senator during a Senate hearing into cybercrime who rebuked Mr Comey for dismissing the seriousness of marijuana use. Mr Comey then backpedaled and said he had been joking.

Marijuana use has been legalised for recreational use in US states Colorado and Washington since the beginning of the year while marijuana medical use is legal in 20 states.