Ok, so I'm currently applying for a job, and as a part of the vetting procedure, I must have an interview with a vetting officer, who'll discuss some aspects of my lifestyle: i.e. health, family circumstances and experiences with drugs and alcohol.

It apparently isn't designed to catch me out, but rather, so the recruiters can work out what kind of person I am, and whether I can be trusted with handling important information.

I'm basically wondering, will admitting to having smoked marijuana in the past put me at a serious disadvantage? And if not, what would be the best way of phrasing my experiences with drugs?

The job is tailor made for me, and I can't believe I've made it this far in teh recruitment, so I don't exactly want to lie and end up getting drug tested and exposed: not getting the job.

Having never had a "real" job you should probably ignore me and anything I say but I'd advise you to say you've never taken illegal drugs and never plan on taking illegal drugs. If they test you and it turns out positive you could try to claim that your experience was from passive smoking and not direct ingestion.
Do they tell you when they're going to test you before hand or is it just a surprise?
It'd be shitty if you'd smoked a load the night before and then they surprise you with a test that'd show amounts of THC too high for the excuse of passive smoking. Damn I don't even know if passive smoking would be a worthy excuse

take a break from bud and lie.

Tell them you used to smoke weed, it'll show honesty. Nobody gives a fuck about that if it doesn't come up on a current piss test.

Believe it or not, it is illegal and people go through life thinking less of those who indulge in such vices.

Alot of business dont want smokey mcpot working for them.

Depends on what sort of game your playing, i wouldnt just tell them i smoke pot - it can harm your chances.

But if you say it's in your past they really won't care.

If you want the job, I wouldn't say shit... vets have shit like ketamine and they probably arn't going to hire a drug user. Just play the role of a perfect law abiding citizen and you'll probably have a better shot at the job.

Idiot.

yeah lol ok eternaleclipse is a dumb fuck.

But if you've got a conviction for drugs (which you dont, but im just making a point here) you'd fail the criminal history test.

They dont care when/where/what happened - theres only grey areas in the law for the rich man.

When your on the receiving end its black and white.

A choice between a guy whos used drugs, and one who hasnt.

Does you former use of drugs somehow make you a better candidate?
Some jobs yes it certainly does, the majority of jobs the answer is a resounding NO.

Zero tolerance polices are commonplace, ironically about as commonplace as drug use.
The trick is to not admit to it.

"To find out what kind of person you are"

AKA: determine how stable you are by measuring past behaviour, pull a presidential on them - say that you love your family as much as you love jesus and couldnt ever do drugs. If you can handle that kind of bullshit.