work in states where marijuana has been legalized by allowing them to benefit from their state’s laws without fear of losing their job. HR-6589, the Fairness in Federal Drug Testing Under States Laws Act, would protect the employment of anyone working for or applying to work for a local office serving the federal government who is caught using cannabis so long as the person is abiding by proper state laws, according to a report from Washington Times.

The bill was introduced by Reps. Charlie Crist (D-Florida) and Drew Ferguson (R-Georgia) once again proving cannabis is an issue that truly brings people together across the aisle.

In many ways, one would not know that marijuana is prohibited by federal law in the United States. In 30 states and Washington, D.C., cannabis has been legalized for medical use, with about a third of those permitting recreational use. While more than half of the states in the U.S. have legalized some form of marijuana, many Americans still have to make careful decisions about whether or not to consume for the sake of their careers. Even where cannabis is legal, employers are perfectly within their rights to drug test and to hold employees accountable for marijuana found in their systems. This includes employees who have a recommendation from their doctor. It becomes even more complicated when the employer serves the federal government. Federal employers must abide by federal law, regardless of the state in which they are located.

Many employers are finding that testing their employees for cannabis use does more harm than good, scaring away talented candidates who have done nothing wrong except follow the medical advice of a physician. These employers defer to state law rather than federal law and do not hold tests showing THC. Federal employers do not have the ability to defer to state law, but this bill would rectify this disparity. In either case, employers can still punish an employee if there is probable cause to believe the worker is under the influence while on the job. The bill also would still not allow employees who have top secret clearance or who have access to highly sensitive information to partake.

As our L.A. marijuana lawyers can attest, drug testing for cannabis is not a reliable way to prove that marijuana use is overlapping one’s professional life. The effects of cannabis usually wear off within a few hours, depending on the method of ingestion, but will remain in the system long enough to show up on a drug test roughly two weeks later. More so, without suspicion that an employee is high on the job, cannabis simply should not be a concern to employers. It is ridiculous that hundreds of thousands of people are now reaping the benefits of cannabis, yet we are still clinging to the notion that somehow by doing so, they could be unfit for work. Our legal team hopes this bill will make life easier for federal employees and will set an example for all employers.

Additional Resources:

New Bill Aims To Protect Employees In Legal States From Being Punished For Consuming Cannabis, July 28, 2018, By Calvin Hughes and James McClure, Civilized

More Blog Entries:

Employers Revisiting Policies on Marijuana, Jan. 1, 2018, Cannabis Law Group

Voters in California, Nevada and Massachusetts approved initiatives for recreational marijuana. Numerous other states passed medical marijuana provisions. Collectively, this proved to be one of the largest electoral victories for the reform of marijuana laws in four years, when both Washington and Colorado were the first to green-light recreational use of the drug. It’s worth noting that similar legislation in Arizona didn’t pass, with 52 percent of the voters rejecting legal marijuana.

Medical marijuana laws were passed in Florida, Arkansas and North Dakota, and Montana loosened restrictions on the existing medical marijuana statute. Supporters of marijuana reform called the night “a monumental victory.” In total the percentage of states where marijuana is now legal for adult use climbed from 5 percent to 20 percent.

With California on board, there is hope that the federal government will soon end the national prohibition on marijuana – which could perhaps spur international change. California for a long time has been the state that serves as a bellwether for marijuana reform – and opposition. It’s a state where 12 percent of the U.S. population resides, and given the potential impact on the economy and other elements, it could very well encourage federal authorities to start rethinking the way they have approached the use of marijuana for the last handful of decades.

On the other hand, the Trump presidency has cast some uncertainty over the traction marijuana reform will continue to get in the coming weeks and moths. An administration that espouses skepticism of drug reform could result in an about-face. Specifically, if someone like Chris Christie or Rudy Giuliani was appointed attorney general, that may not bode well for the future of marijuana reform. A White House that is hostile to the movement could result in us reverting back to the days of federal raids on pot shops across the state – even those that abide by state law. Trump personally has been contradictory on the issue, so it’s difficult to say where he might come down on it. The hope is that the federal government will recognize that continuing a war on drugs will not only be unsuccessful, it will be toxic and unproductive.

As it now stands, federal law prohibits the sale of marijuana across state lanes – even those that both approve its use.

The reform in California wasn’t all that surprising for our marijuana lawyers in L.A. Last month, a national Gallup poll revealed that 6 in 10 Americans supported legalization of recreational marijuana – and that was the highest it had been in the organization’s five-decade history.

Still, there are some public health experts who caution we need to do more to learn about the potential health effects of the drug. Additionally, we don’t have any reliable protocols or tests to help us determine when a driver is truly impaired by marijuana. The drug stays in one’s system so long, it’s impossible with current testing methods to tell whether someone recently consumed the drug or is simply a regular user.

Pro-legalization committees in California had raised an estimated $23 million to support the initiative during the election cycle, while the anti-legalization campaign spent $2 million.

The Los Angeles CANNABIS LAW Group represents growers, dispensaries, collectives, patients and those facing marijuana charges. Call us at 949-375-4734.

Additional Resources:

Californians Legalize Marijuana in Vote That Could Echo Nationally, Nov. 9, 2016, By Thomas Fuller, The New York Times

More Blog Entries:

Why Prohibition – Marijuana or Otherwise – Never Works, Nov. 9, 2016, L.A. Marijuana Lawyer Blog