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Don’t fess up. The polygraph doesn’t actually detect lies. Just chill out and don’t give yourself up.
It sounds like you grew up in a tough neighborhood and saw (participated in) a lot of bad things. That doesn’t qualify you to be a cop. It’s like saying you’re qualified to be a doctor because you’ve been sick a lot. Being a good cop means more than not losing your lunch at the sight of a dead body or not pissing your pants when confronted by a bad guy. The experience you need involves actual training and practice in dealing with people from a position of authority.
As far as your application, there are reasons that a law enforcement agency needs to know your true history before hiring you. Suppose you are involved in bringing down a large drug organization and you testify in court. The organization is likely to have the resources to uncover your past and either blackmail you or discredit your testimony.
Having said all that, I do applaud your desire to do something constructive, and you shouldn’t necessarily be excluded from productive participation in society because of your past mistakes. But, overcoming your past will require more than lying about it or promising never to do it again. I suggest that you withdraw your application so that your record won’t show that you were turned down or dismissed for drug use / lying. This could get you listed as ineligible for future hire, and that could show up on a background check by other organizations. You should be able to find a job that will give you applicable experience and time to prove you have given up the old lifestyle. A few years in the military (MP’s perhaps?) would seem to suit your goals.
Good luck!!
Ah, the cry of the pothead. “Only we are cool. No one that doesn’t partake can be cool!”
You know, there’s a whole range of people out there. I’ve never done illegal drugs, but I am not an “uptight, piched-ass” type, and my empathy and judgement are fine, though I will admit to being a bit self-righteous when unjustly insulted.
And despite that, the FBI rejected my application. For all I know, they, like dolphinboy’s daughter’s interviewers, didn’t believe the truth. Or maybe I wasn’t Mormom enough. Who knows.
Yes things were much different then. Just for a regular army enlistment they would not take you if you admitted to marihuana use. When I signed up 27 years ago that was made very clear to me. As with just about anything there was a waiver process but that was a pain in the ass. Things are vey different now.
I recommend you quietly withdraw (simply advise them you are pursuing another opportunity), and re-apply at a future date or with a different agency. The real problem for you at this point is not the polygraph, it’s that you have already consciously and knowingly acted to deceive the investigator.
From their perspective, this creates a larger risk, in giving a position of trust to someone who has a background of fabrication and falsehoods. The concern is two fold, one that you can be blackmailed because of previous actions, and two that if an attempt is made to coerce or influence you, you won’t report it. Because in order to report it you would have to disclose both the attempt AND the original information that made the attempt possible. And you obviously wouldn’t want to lose the job you were willing to lie to get, so how can I reasonably trust you would not lie about the exploitation attempt or would report the foreign contact you’ve been swapping spit with.
The failure to disclose now, raises you as a potential risk in the future, because it is easier to exploit you. Thus if it is discovered during the investigation that you lied, it acts as a red flag on multiple levels.
I know of people who have full scope polygraph based clearances who are (I kid you not) swingers. But they have been and are completely open about this to investigators and others, and so there’s no pivot point for exploitation.
Again, I recommend you quietly withdraw now, and re-apply (with rigorous honesty) at some future date or with a different entity.
Regards,
-Bouncer-
There better not be, there’d be hardly anyone at day two of the process. 
While some agencies (particularly the DEA and to a lesser extent the FBI) are still hung up on any illegal drug use, most don’t really care provided it’s not recent, you can pass a pee test and you’re honest about it.
People think it’s about being a boy scout. It’s not. It’s about how easily you can be exploited by other individuals, organizations or governments.
Regards,
-Bouncer-
Can we get an update on this? How did the phone interview and/or polygraph test go?