FBI’s weed problem: Agency struggling to hire hackers - because they can't find any who haven’t smoked marijuana in last three years

FBI only take on staff who have not smoked marijuana in the last three years

But policy means they are struggling to hire computer hackers



Director says policy might have to be amended to ease recruitment problem



Cannabis can now be legally purchased in two states



The FBI could be set to reverse their policy of not hiring staff who have smoked cannabis in the last three years

The FBI could be set to reverse its policy of not hiring staff who have smoked marijuana in the past three years after struggling to recruit computer hackers.



At the annual conference of the White Collar Crime Institute, the director of the agency told the audience that the policy means they can't take on some of the staff they would like.



The FBI announced last year that it was increasing its workforce and expanding its suspect-surveillance programmes.



It is thought these will include tactics more commonly associated with underground computer hackers and other tech-savvy criminals.



But as potential employees aren't allowed to have smoked the drug in the last three years, the agency say they now have a recruitment problem.



'I have to hire a great work force to compete with those cybercriminals, and some of those kids want to smoke weed on the way to the interview', director James Comey said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

He also talked about how the FBI was discussing how to amend its marijuana policy to combat the recruitment problem.

Cannabis has recently been legalised in two states including Colarado, which allowed the drug to go on sale at the start of the year at two dozen shops.



State residents aged 21 and over are permitted to buy an ounce, and visitors a quarter ounce.

Previously FBI recruits were unable to join the agency if they had used the drug more than 15 times in their life.

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The FBI director made the comments while addressing the annual conference of the White Collar Crime Institute

Mr Comey made the revelation on the same day that United States brought first-of-its kind cyber-espionage charges against five Chinese military officials accused of hacking into U.S. companies to gain trade secrets.

The FBI had been searching for the men, who are thought to have operated from a fortified building on the outskirts of Shanghai.