Marijuana in the Workplace
Employers’ policies should restrict marijuana use to the extent permitted by law.
It may seem hard to fathom but, in 2019, marijuana is legalized for medical use in 34 states and the District of Columbia, and 10 states plus the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana use. Legalization efforts have not slowed, and marijuana use in the United States continues to rise along with it. Employers are in a precarious position when tasked with maintaining the productivity of their workplaces, and more importantly, the safety of their employees, their clients, and their data in the midst of surging marijuana use. And unlike other drugs, marijuana’s precarious position between legal and illegal makes it different than other impairing substances.
Marijuana is Both Legal and Illegal in Most States
Despite the widespread wave of marijuana legalization in the United States, marijuana remains an illegal drug. The federal government has held firm in classifying marijuana or cannabis as a Schedule I drug. Schedule I drugs, under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), are those for which the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) determines there is a high potential for abuse and for which there is no currently accepted medical use. The DEA reviewed its classification of marijuana in 2016 and affirmatively chose to keep marijuana on the Schedule I list.
Schedule I drugs cannot be prescribed by doctors or distributed at pharmacies. Possession and distribution of a Schedule I substance can be criminally prosecuted in federal court. Approval for research and clinical studies on Schedule I drugs is extremely limited. Additionally, Schedule I drugs receive no oversight or regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
While marijuana is illegal at the federal level in the United States, the federal government has generally chosen not to prosecute those who possess and distribute marijuana in compliance with state laws. Thus, marijuana inhabits an in-between zone of legality: legal and illegal at the same time. While the federal government generally does not prosecute federal marijuana possession laws, it also does not budge on treating marijuana as an illegal drug for purposes of oversight, distribution, federal disability law protection, etc. Federal requirements for drug-free workplaces still require that employees test negative for marijuana along with other illegal drugs.
This article originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.