Off-the-Clock

Lawmakers are still deciding what Oregon law should look like regarding cannabis use and the workplace. There were several pre-existing laws in place that allow employers to ban cannabis use, whether it’s in the workplace or not. Even though a 2014 ballot measure brought legal cannabis to Oregon, employment law still needs to do some catching up. Bill 301 is just one among many bills that have been drafted to come before the Oregon Senate, but will likely affect the biggest majority of people, because almost everyone has a job they don’t want to lose. The passing of Bill 301 would mean an amendment to Oregon’s current laws that allow employers to test for and fire employees for off duty cannabis use.

Cannabis would no longer be grouped together with hard drugs, but it would be classified with tobacco and alcohol, which an employee can use freely at home because they are legal in Oregon. Recreational cannabis became legal in 2015, and it really hasn’t made much sense that up until now employers have been able to have “drug free” policies in the workplace that prohibit cannabis use, and have also been able to drug test for cannabis, and fire an employee as the result of a positive outcome.

“That could all change with Bill 301, restricting employers from enforcing a policy that would not allow an employee to smoke cannabis during their time off.”

That could all change with Bill 301, restricting employers from enforcing a policy that would not allow an employee to smoke cannabis during their time off. After all, you wouldn’t come to work totally drunk, and yet you wouldn’t expect to be chastised by your boss for having a drink on the weekend. Employers would only be allowed to ban cannabis use in the workplace itself, an employee’s private use would be up to them. Colorado has not yet drafted a similar bill, but more and more businesses in Colorado are opting out of prohibiting employee cannabis use. They simply have drug testing that does not screen for cannabis. But there are still many employers in both states that can, and will, fire an employee for off-the-clock cannabis use, which is a very scary thing.

Another one of the bills being put before the senate would set into motion a plan to help Portland’s economy by making it legal to smoke cannabis in public. Oregon would become much more cannabis friendly in social settings, making it easier to go out and stay out, enjoying the Portland scene. A third bill would help reorganize how cannabis is regulated. It proposes that the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, otherwise known as the OLCC, would take on the more appropriate name of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. This name would be much more fitting considering it now regulates both. A separate Commission would be created for running Oregon’s medical cannabis program, taking a load off the back of the Oregon Health Authority.

More and more changes have been cascading down as Oregon laws and lawmakers try to catch up with the legalization of cannabis. 2017 could be a really great year for cannabis smokers, and we hope to see continued change to benefit not only consumers, but small business owners and operators as well. Bill 301 would allow many hardworking Oregonians to relax and enjoy smoking cannabis without fear of losing their jobs. This is a luxury that has been long coming for working women and men in Oregon, and one that many Americans still have to live without.