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Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has become a superhero of sorts to the stoner nation by recently vowing to end marijuana prohibition across the United States.
Earlier this month, the Vermont senator submitted a piece of legislation to the U.S. Senate, which begs to rip the cannabis plant from the pesky clutches of Controlled Substances Act and allow the herb to be legalized all over the country for both medicinal and recreational purposes without any interference from the federal government.
And while the majority of the American workforce can clearly see the benefit to putting such a common sense plan into action (after all, the latest Gallup poll reveals support from 58 percent of the population), Bloomberg BNA columnist Susan Sagarin, who has two decades of experience in human resource management, suggests there might be some concerns among employers that a move of this magnitude could put a hefty wrench in their drug testing policies.
But what type of problems might arise with regards to drug testing in the workplace if Sanders’ bill happens to prove successful and states are then permitted to move forward with legalization efforts without any heat from Uncle Sam?
“For employers in safety-sensitive or federally-regulated workplaces, it is reasonable to assume that legalization of marijuana would have little impact on existing drug-testing requirements,” Sagarin wrote. “Private employers in general industry, however, might have to navigate murkier waters.
“Right now, with marijuana use illegal at the federal level,” she continued, “private employers generally have been able to continue with drug-testing policies that call for the termination of employees who test positive for marijuana use. In fact, even in states that have legalized recreational marijuana use, there are cases of employers successfully terminating employees for medical marijuana use.”