Washington State Liquor And Cannabis Officials Face Obstacles To Personal Use Under Federal Laws

While lawmakers in Washington state are working on preventing employers from sanctioning their workers who use recreational cannabis outside work hours, some state officials are forbidden from using it at all.

Cannabis use remains strictly prohibited for Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board's enforcement officers, not only while on the job but three years prior to applying for an agency's enforcement position, reported Marijuana Moment.

Still, cannabis regulators are signaling that a policy change is possible.

Brian Smith, LCB's communications director, told Marijuana Moment's Ben Adlin in an email that the main obstacle to easing some of the restrictions is cannabis' classification as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act.

"Overarching all of this is the obvious fact that cannabis is illegal at the federal level," Smith said. "This impacts all sectors of state cannabis systems from banking to traceability to commerce to employment restrictions."

Meanwhile, a measure from Sen. Karen Keiser (D) filed this January in the Washington State Senate would make it unlawful to discriminate against a person in hiring if they used marijuana off the clock.

The bill also addresses the issue of the detection of inactive THC metabolites in the consumer's system for weeks following the use.

"Applicants are much less likely to test positive or be disqualified for the presence of alcohol on a pre-employment screening test compared with cannabis, despite both being legally allowed controlled substances," the bill stipulates. "The legislature intends to prevent restricting job opportunities based on an applicant's past use of cannabis."

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