The Office of National Drug Control Policy looking for interns for the spring semester.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Student Internship Program is structured to challenge and reward a select number of students from across the country. The goal of the program is to allow students to gain an outstanding educational and work experience within various components of ONDCP. The program is intended to provide the students with knowledge, tools, skills, and real life work experiences that they can readily apply to future challenges and professional pursuits.

Anyone interested in drug policy ought to find this pretty exciting. But they’re a bit picky about the applicants:

All students tentatively selected are required to submit to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. A security background name check will be conducted and favorable results must be received to establish a report for duty date.

You might also want to avoid mentioning any expertise you may have regarding drug policy, or for that matter science, medicine, economics, or criminal justice policy. They’re looking for smart people, but you don’t want to overwhelm them.

Keep in mind that ONDCP is not a very prestigious organization. You don’t have to knock their socks off. As Tom Angell notes at Dare Generation Diary, their staffers sometimes have trouble spelling one syllable words. As an ONDCP intern, you can help these staffers draft public correspondences that the American tax-payer can be proud of.

Unfortunately these are unpaid positions, but I will buy you dinner every Friday for the duration of your internship with ONDCP.

Afterthought: If you’d rather intern with us, email [email protected].