Should employees be allowed to use legal pot off-duty?

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USA Today reports on the tricky legal issues when it comes to legal marijuana and employers who don’t want workers high on the job.

The story, reported by Trevor Hughes, explores what medical and recreational marijuana means for employers in states where the drug is legal. In Colorado, more employers require drug tests of their employees. One drug testing outfit in Washington told Hughes that an increasing number of job candidates admit they can’t pass a screening.

Dawn Owens, an office worker, told Hughes she opts for Vicodin over marijuana, which is more effective, because she worries about her job.

“You can hire a raging alcoholic that can pass a test because they haven’t had a drink in 24 hours and you can hire someone who abuses prescription drugs because they were able to get a prescription for it, but if someone smokes a joint on a weekend they can’t get a job because they can’t pass the drug test,” she told Hughes.

Hughes reports:

More employers are testing prospective workers before hiring and continuing random drug tests, says Tiffany Baker, co-owner of the Denver DNA and Drug Center, which provides drug-testing services to employers.

“I think big companies were already testing anyway,” she says. “I think small companies are … now more likely to send their workers over.”

“Employers have total power in this arena,” Graves says. “At this point, the employer can do anything they want to do.”

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Via Marijuana News

2 COMMENTS

  1. I attend my job every single day after medicating. My boss wouldn’t be able to tell the difference of me under the influence or not and has never even suspected it. It is only detectable if you use too much or you smell. If you take care of your hygiene and you don’t abuse the privilege, then why would there be a problem?

  2. Any patient should have the right to use marijuana without feeling the pressure of not being able to find a job. People work on all different types of medication. It’s not fair that some places discriminate against you because your method of healing is different then the standard.

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