During my research for my paper on marijuana testing in the workplace, I came upon this article, written in The Washington Post titled "Smoking weed after work? A growing number of employers don’t mind.” Here are a couple of very interesting points in this article:
The article opens with a dental hygienist who consumes a cannabis edible nightly to help with shoulder and neck pain triggered by post-traumatic stress disorder. She landed a new job and was very concerned when she was told she would need to take a drug test. She was open and honest with the new employer and was able to continue with employment, despite a positive drug test. The idea is that employees need to have open and honest conversations with their new employer, rather than try to hide it and the employer be surprised with the positive result.
The article also takes a deep dive into the idea of discontinuing testing altogether. It’s an increasing trend due to the frustration from employers. They find someone they really like and then that person tests positive for marijuana, and they have to start over again.
Brenda Buyce, a human resources manager for assisted-living facility Park Village Pines in Kalamazoo, Mich., said drug testing for THC was eliminating a lot of good job candidates, especially young people. Though recreational use is legal in Michigan, the state-licensing authority does not permit Park Village Pines to hire anyone who tests positive for marijuana.
So, in May 2022, the facility simply stopped testing for it. Park Village Pines pulled the THC panel from its drug tests and retrained managers on what to do if they suspect someone is impaired. Some companies have even advertised that they no longer test for marijuana. One company that has gone this route claims that they saw about a 20 percent increase in applications after advertising the no-test policy!
Very interesting strategy and strong case for rethinking testing…
Full article:
To Test or Not to Test... © 2023 by Amanda Newell is licensed underCC BY-NC-ND 4.0
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