Don’t think this has been covered. With medical marijuana legal in 38 states, I wonder about changes with government/private campuses. Do companies still do drug testing? What about possessing illegal drugs? And, of course, smoking on property. Would medical weed be covered under ADA requiring accommodation?
I haven’t heard of any exceptions to smoking policy based on marijuana instead of tobacco. In addition ‘No Vaping’ is being added to many lists. Companies still do drug testing but many have ignored marijuana use for a long time. Where marijuana use is barred by law such as for commercial drivers nothing has changed. The governor of Maryland addressed some of these issue recently after pardoning people convicted for marijuana paraphernalia and possession charges. There are still federal laws prohibiting marijuana use that the states can’t do anything about.
I don’t think there will be an ADA exception for smoking marijuana, it’s components can be consumed in other ways.
As far as tobacco goes there is no logical reason that it has remained legal. People would scream like Comanches for a couple of weeks and then they would become grateful it was outlawed.
Marijuana is still illegal under federal law and the ADA is a federal law, so no. But if a state has laws similar to the ADA those might apply. When it comes to an ADA accommodation, you really have to look at each issue individually. Let’s say we have an employee who is taking medication that impairs their performance.
The first thing to consider is the safety of your employees. Obviously someone working with heavy machinery or in a warehouse environment is a danger to others if they are physically or mentally impaired by any prescription drug they are taking. Safety might even be an issue in less dangerous work environments like an office. Even in states where marijuana is legal (to whatever degree), that doesn’t mean it’s okay to show up to work while high.
If an employee is on medication that impairs their ability to work, you might talk to them about a reasonable accommodation of some kind. But remember, a reasonable accommodation allows the employee to perform the essential functions of the job. It’s possible there’s no reasonable accommodation that would allow the employee to do their job.
The legality of pot changes nothing about compay policy.
When WA legalized it, the grocery store chain I work for announced that they’d still be firing people for it if it turned up in the random drug tests they were doing at the time.
Less than a year and a lot of firings later they discontinued random drug testing, and also stopped post-accident testing unless at least two of the person’s immediate supervisors independently suspected the person was under the influence when the accident happened.
Any company or organization that receives federal funds could lose them for loosening its restrictions.
What does this have to do with the topic?
[Moderating]
Y’know, I had a snarky mod note written up for this, but between the hijack and the racism, I think I’m just going to call this a Warning.
I think its spelled Banshees. Fitting, as harbingers of death.
There are some states where you can’t fire someone who tests positive for marijuana and they have, well, not a prescription, but a medical marijuana card or some other paper that allows them to purchase and use it according to state law. I believe Arizona is one such state. As a representative of an employer who employs people in multiple states, I can tell you from personal experience that state laws do affect company policy. At least if the company doesn’t want to get smacked down by the state for not following the law.
My company stopped random drug testing during COVID because we thought it was a bad idea to send healthy employees to areas where sick people are gathered during a pandemic. After about two years we revisted the issue and decided it wasn’t necessary to perform random drug tests. Because of our contracts, we are required to be a drug free workplace and are required to test new employees. But random drug screening aren’t required to meet any contractual obligations. We even discovered any savings to our insurance was obliterated by the cost of the random screenings.
Also, any company with federal government contracts is expected to have a drug free workplace in accordance with federal guidelines. I worked here in Oregon for a federally contracted company, on a federal property, and yes we had to be tested for pot pre-employment. Nothing after that but you had to pass your pre-employment test or no job.
Being in a long time legal state meant nothing. It was on a former Naval base used as a school.
I think the SMOKING of marijuana can be banned because it is, ah, smoking. Also, like alcohol, it can be banned because it is a mind altering substance even though it is legal. Even in the case of medical marijuana, people can use it via an edible. It is not necessary to smoke it, so I think a smoking ban would hold up.
Correct me if I’m wrong on this, but I would think smoking it is far less efficient than an edible because a percentage of it is lost in excess smoke escaping in the air. With edibles, one should consume the full 100% of what one buys with no waste.
There’s a lot wrong with this. It doesn’t even really make sense. I’m not even sure what efficient would mean in this context.
Smoking/vaping and eating TCH create very different effects in terms of duration and how it makes one feel. Totally different highs.
Edibles come in many forms such as drinks, gummies, chocolate, mints and baked goods. There is no reason why you can’t have one bite of a brownie and save the rest for later. You wouldn’t buy a box of mints and have to eat all of them.
Please explain.
Inhaling, whether smoke or vape, is an immediate, rather short-term effect. It’s for when you need relief NOW.
Edibles take a while to kick in, and have a long, slow effect with a gradual fade in/out.
I’ll do my best but keep in mind that different people will have different experiences. I’m an occasional user these days but I like the effect of smoking and have never liked edibles. I have tried a variety of edibles over the years. One nice things about edibles in the era of legalization is that you can choose your exact dose (to the extent that labels are accurate). You can buy a 100mg chocolate bar that’s divided into ten squares and have as much as you want.
Smoking/vaping is processed through your lungs and absorbed into your bloodstream from there. Edibles are process through your stomach and liver. I guess you could argue that that makes it more efficient.
Edibles generally come on stronger and last longer. With smoking you feel the effect immediately. Edibles take the better part of an hour to take effect. It’s difficult to explain out of context but smoking is more heady and edibles are more felt in the body.
Thanks! 
Every place I’ve been employed at has a designated smoking area. That seems like it’s a pretty standard thing. If smoking marijuana was medically necessary, I don’t see why a person wouldn’t just smoke it where it doesn’t impact other employees.