Work drug testing in Post-Legalization era

By Bullard Law,
Portland law firm

DEA Approves Research into Treating PTSD with Marijuana

While marijuana has been legalized in a number of states, it remains an illegal drug under federal law.  Although the 2016 Budget Act defunded DOJ from interfering with state medical marijuana laws, this does not change the fact that marijuana (medical or not) remains a Schedule I controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act.  Moreover, Congress has taken no action to remove marijuana from Schedule I of the CSA and President Obama last year described Congressional action as unlikely.

Nevertheless, just last month the US Drug Enforcement Agency approved a study designed to consider the potential benefits of using marijuana to treat military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.  The PTSD rate among veterans following active duty significant (especially as compared to the general population) and has been the subject of much discussion.  June is PTSD Awareness Month and the VA’s National Center for PTSD website is an excellent resource for basic and specific information.

Because PTSD treatment is so important, the search for better and more effective treatments is getting attention.  The search includes a California-based non-profit research group called the Multidisciplinary Approach to Psychedelic Studies wanting to determine whether marijuana might be effective in the treatment of PTSD.  MAPS sought and obtained DEA approval for such a study.  MAPS described the study in a press release.

The Bullard Edge hopes that this study leads to a better understanding of PTSD treatment (whether or not marijuana is part of that treatment).

Marijuana in the Workplace – Impairment Testing

As we discussed just last month in our Merle Haggard themed post, the fact that medical and personal use marijuana are now legal in many states does not mean that employers must change their drug policies.  The law in Oregon and Washington is clear: an employer may adopt a drug policy that prohibits marijuana and need not modify that policy to accommodate a medical marijuana user or an employee using marijuana consistent with state personal use laws.

One of the pushbacks that we see is the complaint that marijuana should be treated like alcohol since both are legal.  The argument goes: just as employers are not allowed to discipline employees for off-duty alcohol use, so should they be barred from disciplining for off-duty legal marijuana use.

While that argument is compelling on the surface, it ignores the impairment component.  In the case of alcohol, impairment may be readily tested if an employee reports to work impaired after drinking alcohol off duty.  There is no comparable test for marijuana impairment.

A number of laws legalizing marijuana also prohibit driving while impaired by marijuana.  This is to be determined by a blood test for TCH; where levels are above a specified threshold the driver is considered impaired.  Recently, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released the results of a study it commissioned finding these TCH tests to be ineffective.  Here is an excerpt from the Conclusions section of the study (emphasis added).

Until there is a reliable test for impairment, the law is unlikely to require employers to modify their drug policies.

Best regards,

The Bullard Edge 

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