Employers Adjust (Slowly) to New Pot Laws

As more states allow medicinal and decriminalized marijuana, some employers are moving away from strict anti-pot policies, instead adopting more sensible rules about -- believe it or not -- actual job performance. Still, though, anecdotal evidence shows that many employers still aren't all that enlightened.

Though thousands of companies conduct pre-employment drug testing, data on exactly what they're testing for -- and what they do with such information -- is hard to come by. Do they ignore positive marijuana results? Does pot preclude employment?

For example, in 2000, Colorado voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing medicinal marijuana use and requiring employers to support employees who use pot responsibly under the law. But the response has been mixed. Some workplaces understand that testing positive for pot doesn't mean the worker is high on the job. Others don't get the distinction.

The state Department of Transportation, for example, won't accept a positive test from someone who drives for the agency. So DOT drivers can drink a half-gallon of whiskey when they're off the job, but can't smoke a joint to alleviate back pain.

Medicinal marijuana users in Washington state don't even have the legal protection built into Colorado's amendment. In October, a state appeals court ruled that a medicinal marijuana card doesn't protect workers from adverse hiring or disciplinary decisions. (That case is being appealed to the state supreme court.)

A recent essay on Alternet shows that employment problems are by no means restricted to just medicinal users. A woman was recently rejected for a job at a corporate hospital because of a positive marijuana test. She's a responsible employee and had worked at the hospital before, but smoked pot twice a week recreationally. She writes:

We assume responsible usage until there are signs of gross negligence; shouldn't marijuana be held to the same standards? Testing for marijuana is particularly invidious, the drug stays in the system longer than other drugs, and a positive test could target one as a drug user, regardless of actual usage.

As marijuana gains broader acceptance and laws begin to allow responsible and medicinal use, employers need to adapt. Job loss shouldn't be a lingering penalty after the law changes.

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