BY JO MCGUIRE, FIVE MINUTES OF COURAGE & CHUCK MARTING, COLORADO MOBILE DRUG TESTING, INC.
You had a feeling this call might come. Your client—the owner of a company—is on the phone. “We’d like to go ahead and remove THC from the drug test panel. If we test for it, we won’t have any employees left! I have no choice but to stop testing for marijuana because everyone is using it.”
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t’s amazing how many times those of us in the drug and alcohol testing industry are faced with this dilemma.
And it happens in spite of company policies that state, “We are a drug-free workplace.” In states with marijuana laws—
whether existing or new—employers are finding that more of their employees are consuming marijuana. Employers usually learn this when an employee is selected for a random test, or when the employee begins manipulating the employer with rhetoric such as, “Marijuana is not against the law, and your drug testing is illegal.” Te stories we oſten hear, and the phone
calls we oſten field, come from employers who are frustrated, confused, and in search of answers. Answers to the quandary of marijuana-use as it pertains to the drug-free workplace environment.
Te challenges are so significant that one
Alaska-based company recently altered its drug and alcohol policy to read, “We are a safe and productive workplace.” Yes, you read that correctly. No mention of remaining drug free. In spite of the fact that drug use significantly impacts employee productivity, absenteeism, accidents, injuries, and worker’s compensation claims.1 Why are employers making the choice
to eliminate drug-free language from their policies? Each of us has observed, experienced, or
witnessed individuals being bullied. Since the legalization of marijuana, many of us have repeatedly experienced employers who are bullied by their own employees. In having to grapple with the legalization of marijuana versus hiring employees to fill positions, our goal should be to provide understanding and
spring 2017
ADDRESSING THE MARIJUANA BULLY IN THE WORKPLACE
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