Cannabis Drug Screening and Corporate America: Job Candidates Suffer From Hazy Cannabis Laws
A solid resume, a killer portfolio… and a negative drug test? One of these things is not like the other. In the modern-day United States, even with a staggering 48 states with some form of legalization, employers are still screening job candidates for weed. A 5-panel drug test is the one most commonly used by employers - it checks for substances like cocaine, THC, PCP, amphetamines, and opiates. Again, one of these things is not like the other. There has never been a single reported overdose or fatality due to the consumption of cannabis. Yet many employers feel compelled to screen candidates to see if they use it. With recreational use of cannabis legal in 19 states and medical cannabis legal in 36, casual cannabis use can still restrict you from securing a job almost anywhere. No matter how qualified you may be.
The Science Behind THC Absorption In The Body Makes Testing Unfair by Design
Cannabis metabolites are fat-soluble, which means they bind to fat molecules in your body. Some THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, is even temporarily stored in organs and fatty tissues. Via the kidneys, THC can actually be reabsorbed into the bloodstream. As a result, it can take some time for THC to fully leave your system. A heavy cannabis user - a daily smoker - can fail a drug test even after months of sobriety. The longest-reported detection times are longer than 90 days. But even those who take the occasional puff can miss out on good jobs due to drug screening. Picture this: a candidate can hop off a plane after a trip to a legal recreational state, and be barred from a job opportunity simply because they smoked that weekend - even though they didn’t break any laws, and their positive result doesn’t necessarily reflect their lifestyle choices. Even non-habitual smokers are suffering from hazy cannabis laws that don’t reflect current legislation and culture. If you connect the dots, drug screening for cannabis means employers have the ability to discriminate against an individual who doesn’t even actively smoke, or even a smoker who has quit. The science between THC absorption in the body makes drug testing unfair by design. Even if a well-qualified candidate quits smoking to be considered for a job, they might still fail the test, causing them to lose out on opportunities due to their past behavior. This creates a sort of double jeopardy from which many corporate smokers can’t escape. Damned if you smoke, damned if you don’t. But what’s weed got to do with your resume anyway? 
Testing For Weed Contradicts With Current Job Candidate Privacy Laws
Under United States law, it is illegal to ask a job candidate their age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or ethnicity. Interviewers cannot ask a candidate if she is pregnant, and questions about hobbies and recreation are often limited to the dreaded “So, what do you do for fun?” With zero reported deaths, illnesses, and injuries reported from the use of cannabis, it begs the question of why many candidates are forced to disclose their cannabis use in any capacity. The reality is, job interview drug testing is an invasion of privacy. Employee drug tests provide data that is taken out of context. If a prospective employer has a beer or two on the weekend, it doesn’t mean they drink on the job. The same argument holds firm for cannabis use. If a well-qualified candidate is a good fit for a role at your firm, why would you disqualify them for what they do at home? Drug testing also fails to take into account the medical benefits of cannabis - which are supported and upheld across 36 states who have legalized medical cannabis. Drug testing for cannabis marginalizes the average person, and puts them in a bucket with those who use or abuse much more harmful substances. Those who hold medical licenses are left with no defense against jobs that firmly refuse cannabis users of any kind. HIPAA laws state that no individual is required or expected to disclose private health information to anyone, much less an employer. Yet a positive drug test for cannabis can reveal that an interviewee is a medical patient, which may disclose a health problem they would otherwise not like to share.
From Interns To Execs: Weed Smokers Are In Every Workplace
With the recent legalization of recreational cannabis in states like New Jersey, New York, and Arizona, it’s becoming increasingly evident that weed smokers permeate every sector of society. From entry-level interns to C-suite execs, weed smokers are represented in nearly every tier of employment. The late Steve Jobs was vocal about his affinity for weed and Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin conglomerate, even sat and talked shop with High Times. In a world where people who embody the idea of success - moguls from the likes of Bill Gates to Oprah to Jay-Z - are free to voice their affinity for weed, why must average people suffer for the occasional joint? With many states loosening their grip on cannabis law, it’s time to treat weed like other recreational substances. You wouldn’t ask an interviewee the last time they had a beer, and you sure as hell wouldn’t test them to find out either. When a candidate’s entire livelihood - their income, their health insurance, their professional experience, and future - depends on the results of a cannabis test, nobody wins. Employers miss out on qualified workers, and those qualified workers are expelled to the fringes of society where they don’t exactly belong. When any company in any industry - from fast food to finance - makes it unnecessarily hard for the right candidate to get hired, everyone loses. There is no denying that substances like opiates or cocaine don’t belong in the workplace. It’s no secret that these drugs affect your ability to focus and perform at work safely. But if workplace drug testing is to continue, there needs to be a much more modern approach that doesn’t penalize weed smokers.
Final Thoughts: Drug Testing Discriminates Against Those Guilty Of No Crime
Employers need to have reasonable expectations for their candidates in today’s modern world. There should be a clear justification for candidate drug testing. For example, those who operate heavy machinery do in fact need to be substance-free while on the job - but in your standard office role, many believe drug testing should be reactive and not proactive. Again, it’s not illegal to smoke weed in most states. Nor is it illegal to travel to those states to smoke, even if you live in an illegal state. Cannabis consumption is not black and white, but drug tests results are. Cannabis testing marginalizes weed smokers, cutting off their access to good jobs that offer them stable income and healthcare. When you bar weed smokers from securing new opportunities, you discriminate against a demographic that’s guilty of no crime. And with legalization popping up across the country at rates that are faster than expected, jobs will run out of candidates before candidates decide to quit weed. Your call, corporate America.