How Is Legal Cannabis Changing Workplace Drug Testing?

By US Drug Test Centers.

Support for the full legalization of marijuana has reached an all-time high at 66%, but currently only a quarter of Americans live in a state with a fully legal status. As the laws continue to change, many states are outlawing an employer’s ability to drug test job candidates for marijuana unless they will be in a safety-sensitive position. If a person depends on marijuana for medical reasons, where are some of the best places they can live currently?

There are six states and the District of Columbia as of this story that have the most lenient laws in regards to marijuana use — Colorado, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Vermont, and Washington DC. In Colorado many businesses have designated cannabis smoking sections in public places, and by next year dispensaries will be able to deliver cannabis right to the homes of the people who need it for medical reasons. By 2021, any consumer will be able to place an order for home delivery for cannabis products. Alaskans are able to legally possess up to an ounce of cannabis, as can those in Washington state and Massachusetts. In both Vermont and Washington DC, it is legal to grow but not to sell marijuana, opening it up for people to grow their own.

As the laws change, workplace drug testing is having to adapt. In Nevada, there is a ban on all pre-employment drug screening unless it is for firefighters, those who operate vehicles professionally, emergency medical technicians, and other jobs where safety is a factor. New York City has passed a similar law that will go into effect next year. Employers are also voluntarily dropping marijuana from their pre-employment screenings, noting that it doesn’t make sense to punish people for what they do in their off-time.

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To learn more about workplace drug testing in the age of legalization, please visit US Drug Test Centers.

Images courtesy of US Drug Test Centers.

The preceding article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.