How to Address Marijuana in the Workplace

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Drug use in the workplace is a growing threat to the safety and productivity of businesses.  Among the threat is legal drug use, including in many states marijuana use.  In 40 states marijuana is now legal for medicinal use and in 25 states it is legal for recreational use. This accessibility is impacting the workplace, and it is imperative that employers know the extent of the problem and how to combat it. 

Why Continue Testing for Marijuana? 

To be clear, discontinuing testing for marijuana is a bad business decision. It will lead to hiring more drug users and having more workers under the influence of drugs on the job every day. This will lead to an increase in workplace accidents, workers’ compensation claims filed, and lawsuits from co-workers who are injured, customers who suffer losses, and the general public who are harmed by your marijuana-impaired employees.  

The legalization of pot has not made marijuana a harmless drug to use. The truth is marijuana-impaired workers are less safe, less productive, and more expensive to employ. A marijuana-impaired employee making deliveries in a company van, operating a forklift, or preparing a client’s taxes is more likely to do something that brings harm to others than a non-drug using, unimpaired worker. This is especially true for companies in safety-sensitive industries. 

What Should Drug Test Providers Do? 

Many employers rely on their drug testing providers to help them make smart decisions regarding their drug-free workplace policies, including how to conduct drug testing, which drugs to test for, and when to test. Unfortunately, the legalization movement is changing how some drug testing providers conduct business. There are three basic approaches emerging: 

1. The “head-in-the-sand” approach. Some providers still don’t think marijuana poses a threat to their business. These are very knowledgeable providers who are otherwise unprepared when a client decides to discontinue testing for marijuana and see it as an anomaly instead of the growing trend that it is. 

2. The “marijuana users have rights” approach. This includes providers who appeal to employers’ fears of prying into their workers’ private lives and getting sued by legal users of marijuana who claim that drug testing violates their rights. These providers promote a minimalist, in “name-only” drug testing approach.  

3. The “consultative” approach. This is a necessary and hopefully growing segment of the drug testing industry that, in response to various cultural trends, including the legalization of marijuana, tends to ask questions first so they can identify clients’ needs. This enables them to offer solutions from a variety of options rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. 

Becoming a Consultative Seller 

What questions do consultative sellers ask? Among others they ask these types of questions: 

• What are your primary drug testing objectives? What do you hope to accomplish with your drug testing program? 

• Would you like to avoid hiring drug abusers? 

• Do you hope to maintain a safer workplace, decrease accidents, and reduce workers’ compensation costs? 

• Do you understand your rights as an employer regarding marijuana? 

• What percentage of your employees use marijuana? What percentage do not? 

• Do you know how much money marijuana use is costing your company every year? 

• Would you consider an alternative drug testing method that is endorsed by the federal government, cost-effective, legal in virtually every state, and that makes testing for marijuana legally defensible? 

Of course, this line of questions is designed to help the provider understand what the client wants and how to help that client achieve those objectives. If a company would prefer to continue testing for marijuana (most companies fall into this category) but they’re not sure how to go about it under present circumstances, offer these 8 easy-to-follow steps. 

How can I continue to drug test for marijuana? 

1. Become familiar with all applicable marijuana laws. The best defense against oppressive marijuana laws is to comply with them. 

2. Update your drug testing policy so you are in complete compliance with each applicable state law. No two state laws are identical so the policy will have to be customized on a state-by-state basis.

3. Use a drug testing method endorsed by the federal government. There are only two methods that offer the highest level of legal defensibility—lab-based urine and oral fluid testing (and someday hair testing). 

4. Use a drug testing method that covers the entire 3-to-10-hour window of impairment for marijuana.(i) Marijuana-induced impairment can be just as dangerous during the tenth hour as it is during the first hour. (Note: Lab-based oral fluid testing, which is capable of detecting drugs within minutes of ingestion, is the only recent-use drug testing detection method endorsed by the federal government.) 

5. Use a drug test method that can detect all the other common drugs of abuse. Just testing for marijuana is not a wise business decision in light of the fact that the abuse of other illicit drugs such as opioids and amphetamines has increased significantly since the start of the pandemic. 

6. Confirm all non-negative results at a laboratory using the same specimen whenever possible. This requires the use of a testing method capable of splitting the initial sample so it can be screened and confirmed.  This is possible with lab-based and rapid-result urine and oral fluid testing. 

7. Rely on the expertise of a licensed Medical Review Officer (MRO) to verify positive test results. Utilizing Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) guidelines, MROs can be trained to review results for urine and oral fluid.  

8. Don’t discriminate against registered medical marijuana users. You can do all of the above without treating legal marijuana users any differently than all other employees. The only thing you are requiring of marijuana users is that they show up for work fit for duty, that they follow established and common-sense safety procedures, and that they not use marijuana while on the job. 

Conclusion 

Just because marijuana is legal in most states does not mean that employers should surrender their rights to deal with marijuana in the workplace. Employers still have the right in all 50 states to prohibit employees from bringing marijuana into the workplace, using marijuana while on the job, or being at work while under the influence of or impaired by marijuana. 

Likewise, drug testing providers should not ignore the reality of legalization and its obvious and growing impact on the industry. Providers should be proactive in offering accurate and practical information to their clients about marijuana to help them make wise business decisions. 

Like it or not, legal marijuana is here to stay. The good news is that drug testing is also here to stay for the good of businesses, their employees, and their customers.   

DrugPak Software helps hundreds of businesses of all sizes effectively manage and monitor their drug testing programs. Contact us today to learn how we can help your business. 
 
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[i] Report from the University of Sydney published in Neuroscience & Bio behavioral Reviews, analyzed 80 separate studies to determine when people would be impaired after cannabis use​. https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/how-long-does-impairment-last-after-cannabis-use/