Workplace Protection

The city of Oakland will no longer bar prospective employees for past consumption of cannabis. Given the growing acceptance of cannabis, legislation regarding cannabis use was introduced declaring that non work-related cannabis consumption will no longer qualify as grounds for rejection for a job with the city of Oakland. The resolution was introduced by Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan. The measure was unanimously passed by the Finance Committee and passed on to Oakland City Council.

Kaplan cited overwhelming disparity among people of color, especially African Americans who are disproportionately affected by cannabis-related discrimination. Kaplan set out to end the outdated and discriminatory practice that persists within city hall. “I’ve been involved in the cannabis legalization and regulation effort for over a decade now,” Kaplan told CULTURE. “And it seems only right that we would not reject job applicants for something that we say is not a crime.”

Kaplan was originally elected for Oakland City Council in 2008, and she was swiftly re-elected in both 2012 and 2016. Her approach toward this issue is clear and simple. “What [my resolution] would mean is that the city of Oakland is doing hiring for city positions, it would not be allowed to reject applicants on the basis of non-work-related cannabis use,” Kaplan explained. “So I think it’s really important for Oakland, which has 3,000 employees. So this policy change affects thousands of people.”

“What [my resolution] would mean is that the city of Oakland is doing hiring for city positions, it would not be allowed to reject applicants on the basis of non-work related cannabis use.”

Kaplan noted that Oakland has a long history in leading cannabis laws through some of the region’s first permitted medical cannabis dispensaries in 2004 and the nation’s first established cannabis taxes in 2009. Kaplan noted that she wants to continue to see the city embrace cannabis with open arms. “On an issue like employee discrimination, we should be in the lead, both for the people that are impacted in Oakland, but also in the hopes that others will copy this. People need to talk about it.”

Oakland has made cannabis crimes the lowest priority for over a decade, but the disparity is still as strong as ever. “Oakland does not drug test people for government benefits, as they do in republican-dominated states, otherwise I would be introducing legislation to put a stop to it,” says Kaplan. “We already don’t. When you drug test for public benefits, jobs and when you interview people about past drug use. It’s a big waste of time a personnel, and it perpetuates racial injustice.”

Kaplan hopes that others will follow her initiative. She explained how many other jurisdictions throughout the country as well as the federal government reject job applicants for non-work-related cannabis consumption. “It’s a much bigger problem than Oakland, and it’s my hope to make it clear that this needs to be solved. Voting for adult use legalization makes it all the more clear that it’s not a wrongful act,” Kaplan said. California voters passed Proposition 64 last November, which legalized cannabis for all adults over the age of 21. The city of Oakland is one of the first to update its laws to reflect the will of California voters, as the majority approved the measure last November.