I would like to preface this article, by saying that I do not advocate for substance abuse, however when identifying what is meant by substance abuse we must destroy our pre conceived notions around what is frowned upon and/or accepted by society. As our nation slowly transitions to the inevitable acceptance of marijuana/cannabis and its recreational use, aged workplace usage policies must evolve with the times. Current workplace drug testing for cannabis punishes users simply following state laws, and while certain occupations definitely need monitoring/drug screening, the levels at which people are currently tested are simply too low. Currently most urine drug tests test at a 20-50 microgram/ml level, meaning that if the concentration of THCOOH in your urine must be below the specified level to pass. The problem with this however, is that for your consistent cannabis user(I'm talking potentially 2-3 times a week), when drug tested in the workplace, you would be testing positive for 1-2 weeks after final use. Current drug testing policies aren't testing to see if workers are high at the job, they're testing to see if you've smoked in the last month and if the compounds are still present in your body. The technicalities of drug testing for cannabis are derived from the fact that unlike other substances that are quickly flushed through the body in a matter of days, cannabis binds to fat cells, and slowly unbinds from the fat cells an seeps into the urine, making detoxing and having a cannabinoid free body a much more strenuous process. For even more consistent medical users, that may consume cannabis once a day, forget passing a drug test for the next month, the more consistent the use the harder it is to get clean. This would be the equivalent of a daily beer drinker testing above the legal limit on a breathalyzer after abstaining for a week. This puts cannabis users who are seemingly following their state legislation in a tricky situation when looking for employment, can they really use cannabis when their employment is threatened by every puff?
California legislators have drafted a bill recently to address these issues, and it's about time.
Andre Sheeler wrote, "California adults can smoke marijuana without fear of going to jail, but using it after hours can still have consequences at work.
A new bill in the Legislature aims to end a still common employment practice five years after Californians voted to legalize recreational cannabis in which private companies can require workers to test for marijuana use.
Assembly Bill 1256, introduced by Assemblyman Bill Quirk, D-Hayward, is intended to prevent employers from using past evidence of marijuana use, such as a hair or urine test, as justification for discrimination against an employee, such as denying or terminating employment, according to Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML, a sponsor of the bill."
In a state where medicinal use has been legal for more than 2 decades, how are we behind states such as Nevada, New Jersey and others, that offer protections for workers who use cannabis. New Jersey allows employees to provide reason for positive tests, such as medical recommendations etc, Nevada barred employers from being allowed to not hire employees strictly because of positive marijuana tests. Many people consider California to be the cannabis capital of the world, but our policies policing it definitely do not reflect that.
There is a confusing situation with the legalization of marijuana because it is illegal federally but legal in many states. Even though it is illegal federally, it is insane to me that in states that it is legal, they still require drug testing for marijuana. Although the lines of unclear, it makes no sense to me. If it does not affect their work in the office, then what is the point? Cannabis can help a lot of people with many different things. I think the best answer at this point would be to legalize cannabis federally so the lines are more straightforward and people are not getting punished for anything regarding marijuana.
If you're using cannabis recreationally and it's legal why are employers testing at all. If someone is using cannabis excessively to the point where it impacts their job performance then that should be easily recognized by the employer without a drug test. Otherwise, their usage habits in their own private lives off of company property should be no business of the employers much like alcohol and tobacco.
I always found it super interesting that jobs would make people take mandatory drug tests every month or other month. It's crazy to think that people in California are still being punished by employers simply for recreational or medicinal use, especially if the quality of their work hasn't changed. It'll be interesting to see how workplace drug tests change as marijuana becomes legal in a majority of the states or by the federal government. I wonder if someone will create something similar to a breathalyzer for the detection of weed to try and hinder people being high at work. This would probably faze out the need for urine testing, as like you said, it doesn't show whether someones smoked an…
The criminalization of marijuana is not only impractical and illogical, but it also enables the police to target and arrest members of the black community. While both white and black teens use marijuana at the same rates, black teens are twice as likely to be arrested for drug use. These disproportionate arrests have life-long effects on those imprisoned and generational impacts on the community as a whole. Even though marijuana is less harmful than alcohol, opioids, and other legal drugs, our jails are overpopulated with non-violent marijuana users. Marijuana needs to be legalized and decriminalized.
This is so overdue. I've used both CBD and THC for a couple of years to manage pain and sleep issues but now that I'm reentering the job market I have completely stopped. Now I'm back to using over the counter medications (Ibuprofen, Tylenol) to manage arthritis and joint pain in addition to sleep aids like Melatonin. None are as effective as either CBD or THC.
It is insane to me that I can take opioids that I was prescribed a couple months ago after a surgery (and over prescribed. Asked for 3-5 and was given 30) with no problem, but if I smoke, or eat a gummy, I could very well lose an employment opportunity. Not to mention tha…