Our bloated federal government in Washington already has a massive number of people working there. (The federal government is the nation’s largest employer with nearly three million people on the payroll.) But they would like to have a lot more. One thing stopping many people from being hired, however, is a longstanding prohibition on hiring anyone who has ever used marijuana. That rule is still in place despite both medical and recreational marijuana having been either legalized or decriminalized in a growing number of states. But last week, a small, bipartisan group in Congress introduced a bill that would offer the opportunity for applicants to receive security clearances and jobs with the feds in some cases if they are past or even current users of the wacky tobaccy. So is this a good idea? (Government Executive)

A bipartisan trio of House lawmakers last week introduced legislation that would allow marijuana users past and present to qualify for security clearances and serve as federal employees.

The Cannabis Users Restoration of Eligibility Act (H.R. 5040), sponsored by Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., would end the practice by which a job applicant’s past or current cannabis use are unable to apply for jobs in the federal government and can be the basis of denying them a security clearance.

Pressure for the federal government to ease up on regulations barring federal workers, particularly those who need security clearances for their jobs, from having ever used marijuana has grown in recent years. Currently, 38 states and Washington, D.C., allow for the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, while 23 states and D.C. have enacted laws legalizing the sale and consumption of marijuana recreationally.

I was a bit dubious about this being a truly “bipartisan” effort until I saw the list of sponsors. When you can get Jamie Raskin and Nancy Mace together on anything it’s close to the equivalent of a unicorn sighting. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen them agree on anything except marijuana and UFOs.

Even if the bill goes through and is signed, this won’t translate to an automatic free pass to government employment for pot smokers. They will still have to meet all of the other basic requirements and pass the standard entrance exams. But there remain a number of other questions and challenges to be addressed.

Everyone is free to make up their own minds about marijuana legalization. I used to be more of a fan of the idea, but recent reports suggesting that regular use of today’s much more powerful strains of weed can lead to incidents of psychosis have given me pause. It’s still a popular idea with many people in the country, however, so it almost feels like this is going to happen sooner or later.

But granting someone an “exemption” from a long-established federal rule doesn’t address the underlying issues. If you really want to change the system, they should start by finally removing marijuana from the Schedule 1 list of illegal narcotics. It’s always seemed a bit silly to me to list marijuana in the same category as heroin and LSD anyway. By taking that step first, we would also break down the disconnect between federal and state laws that prevent users from holding jobs with companies having contracts with the federal government even in states where the drug is legal.

Asking the government to remove the employment prohibition at the federal level while the drug is still classified as a Schedule 1 narcotic only creates yet another disconnect in the hiring process. But if the sponsors of the bill would address both of these questions in the proper order, the process would likely be a lot smoother. Of course, that assumes that you want pot smokers handling your tax returns or drafting your federal regulations. But now that I think about it… how much worse could they really be?