16 States Provide Workplace Protection For Medicinal Marijuana. Could California Be Next?

Ever since states started legalizing marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes, there has been a debate over drug testing in the workplace.

A worker who is using the drug medicinally may fail a drug test and lose their job. But a recreational user could be making their workplace less safe for everyone if they come to work inebriated.

Enter workplace drug testing.

The rate of positive drug tests hit a 14 year high in 2018, according to a recent Los Angeles Times article. Of the 10 million tests processed by Quest Diagnostics, 4.4% tested positive for some type of drug.

But these tests, while effective for detecting employee drug use, don’t distinguish between recreational and medical uses of substances like marijuana. A drug who’s quasi-legality makes it difficult for workers who are using it medicinally to gain employment protections.