Legalized marijuana and jobs

Maggie: Hey Jack, I heard you got that new job at the factory.  When do you start?

Jack: I would have started tomorrow, but I failed my drug test. 

Maggie: Failed the test?  I didn’t think you did drugs.

Jack: I don’t. But, I overheard someone saying they failed their test because they had a Mary Jane last night, and I ate a Mary Jane candy bar this morning for breakfast, so I didn’t even bother trying to take it.

Blunt, Mary Jane, joint, grass.  Whatever you might call it, marijuana is a hot topic right now everywhere you go.  With 23 states that have legalized medical marijuana and 4 now with recreational marijuana use (CO & WA in 2012 and OR and AK in 2014), the topic of work place drug testing and legal drug use has come to the top of everyone’s radar.  Some users think that because it’s legal to use marijuana in those 4 states that they can get away with popping positive on a drug test, but you can’t.

“Wait a minute there, that’s not fair.  The state says I can use it, so why are you telling me I can’t get a job while using it.”

A federal law always trumps state laws when it comes to drug use.  The local police can pull you over, and you might not get a ticket for possession. But if you are busted by the DEA, you can go to jail.  It’s the same for an employer.  Employers want to make sure that their customers or vendors are handled consistently with the best customer service that can be provided.  Also for jobs in safety positions like a pilot or train conductor, marijuana can interfere with their decision making abilities.

“That still sounds like discrimination.  I’m just as capable of handling customers and handling the machinery when I’ve had a joint as when I have not.”

Well, I wish I could say that you are, but research has shown that some of the short term effects of marijuana can be to impair or reduce short-term memory and/or a reduction in the ability to perform tasks that require concentration and/or coordination, like handling machinery.  Employers want to make sure not only are the customers given the best treatment they should have, but also want to make sure that the employees are safe on the job site.  They would prefer not to have the liability of an employee that might be high working on equipment that could hurt someone else. 

“Well the key word there is short term.  I can smoke a joint before I go to work and be fine the rest of the day.”

Again that’s just not the case.  The effects of one joint starts within just a few minutes of the first toke, and can reach a peak after 30 minutes. But most of the effects don’t return to normal until 5 hours after that first hit.  Generally the high from that hit can last up to 3 hours depending on your tolerance of the drug.  Employers do understand that states have legalized the drug, but they also understand that, even though marijuana might be considered a “safe” drug by some, there is still a strong possibility that someone can get hurt while on that high. 

“Well I’ll just sue them for wrongful termination then, if they fire me.”

Good luck on that!  Turns out that any cases of employees suing for that are usually tried on the federal level, and because federal laws take precedence over state, they are more likely to be thrown out for that reason.  There have been cases of wrongful termination on the basis of legalized marijuana in both CO and WA (where it is legal), and the results were in the favor of the employer.  Colorado has actually worded in the law, “Nothing in this section is intended to require an employer to permit or accommodate the use of marijuana in the workplace, or to affect the ability of employers to have policies restricting the use of marijuana by employees.”  Even in CA, where they have only legalized medical marijuana, they have the same outcome in court cases.  So the precedent has been set that even though marijuana might be legal, your employer can fire you for using it, if they have a drug policy that says you can’t.  At this point employers are free to keep their zero tolerance drug policies on the record without facing any type of legal consequences, like fines. 

So keep it in mind that just because you might be able to legally do marijuana within your state, your employers don’t have to legally keep you.  Whether you have a job that is strictly customer service oriented or are in a safety job like a pilot, it’s best to stay away from marijuana even during off hours. You would be saving your job, and possibly someone else’s life.