LEGAL CANNABIS CONUNDRUMS

Although California finally voted to permit recreational cannabis use for adults, it doesn’t mean that you can consume cannabis at any time and still keep your job. California businesses may still test employees for drug use, but it appears that the decision to do so ultimately will come down to the type of work that is being done on the job. For example, if you’re a web designer for Google, you will not be forced to comply with a drug test. However if you operate heavy machinery for a construction company, chances are you will be drug tested.

This divide can also been seen within certain California companies, where one profession within the organization is tested and another is not. According to The Mercury News, University of California, Berkeley doesn’t test its professors for drug use, but it does test campus police officers.

The zero-tolerance approach for blue-collar workers versus the more relaxed approach by companies where people work primarily in cubicles is an interesting divide in our state. With the passage of Proposition 64, this divide between the two classes may stir up quite a bit of controversy.

John Sullivan is the head of the Human Resources Management Program at San Francisco State. Sullivan told The Cannifornian one reason why white-collar professions like those in technology companies might choose to not test for drugs. “It affects recruitment and retention. In high tech, usage is so common that it is really hard to drug test, so most companies don’t,” Sullivan said. “The companies who used to do it don’t, because it drove so many people away and doesn’t predict anything.”

On the other hand, many blue-collar professions are subjected to being tested for drugs, including cannabis, because they are operating equipment that could potentially harm themselves or someone else. For instance, police officers have guns and tasers, which are notoriously known to be kept out of the hands of someone who is under the influence. Further, construction workers who wield powerful tools and people who drive buses are operating some of the most dangerous pieces of machinery that could cause harm to them or someone else if not utilized in a safe way.

Although it is clear that testing positive for cannabis does not mean that someone is currently feeling the psychoactive effects of cannabis, there is still a strict zero tolerance policy in many companies. Now that California has successfully passed Proposition 64, it will be interesting to see if companies will move forward by developing and adopting an accurate way to test their employees for current impairment, thus allowing them to imbibe in adult-use of cannabis in their free time.