Week 5 EOC: Marijuana in the Workplace

I think it is such a confusing regulation as to whether allow current employees to smoke marijuana or to uphold the current federal law. There are pros and cons to either side but in general, I think it should be treated like alcohol. According to federal law, "It is permissible to ask applicants if they use illegal drugs or smoke, because either of these traits can be legally used to disqualify applicants. It is also allowable to ask candidates if they are willing to submit to a voluntary drug test as a condition of employment" (Hayes and Ninemeier 120). Despite the fact there are 23 states that have legalized medical marijuana, companies in many of these states still adhere to drug testing as allowed in federal law.

I agree that Brandon Coats being fired from his job at DISH was unfair because he upheld the legal parameters of medical marijuana usage in Colorado, a state that has legalized marijuana. "In a 2011 survey of major employers by the Society for Human Resource Management, more than half of the companies responding said they conduct drug tests on all job candidates." (Noguchi). By the looks of this survey, companies still want to drug test for marijuana despite that fact that it is legal in some states. I believe unless all states legalize marijuana, companies will continue to test for THC because there would be to many different regulations which could lead to a headache setting up a standard rule. At this point I think it would be a great idea to find another way to test for drugs in a way that specifically relates to being high or intoxicated during work hours. "There may eventually be intoxication tests for pot that are more like the Breathalyzer's detection of recent alcohol use." (Noguchi). Until this actually happens though, companies will have to tread lightly and expect more litigation because of the difference between state and federal laws contradicting themselves.

Noguchi, Yuki. "Colorado Case Puts Workplace Drug Policies To The Test". 12 August 2014. Health         News from NPR. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/08/12/339822911/colorado-case-puts-           workplace-drug-policies-to-the-test?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social. Accessed 8/14/14.