Deep Dive: Washington Senate Approves Bill To Protect Job Applicants Who Use Marijuana

Image: Marijuana Moment Website

More than a decade after voters legalized cannabis under Washington law, some state lawmakers hope to end the use of testing for the drug as a condition for getting hired.

Recreational use of cannabis is legal under state law for adults over the age of 21 in Washington, but legalization hasn’t stopped some employers from making hiring decisions based on the results of drug testing for cannabis .

Who’s Championing This?

A bill sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser,  would prevent testing for cannabis for pre-employment, though employers still would be able to test workers while they are employed.

“I think that it is discrimination at this point, to discriminate against someone for the use of a legal substance just in terms of being hired,” Keiser said. “We really need to open our doors and not close them. It’s both a fairness issue and a workforce issue.”

Follow the Leader

Amazon, the world’s second largest employer, announced in 2021 that the company would remove cannabis from their pre-employment drug screening program for positions not regulated by the Department of Transportation. If passed, this bill would require other employers in Washington to follow suit.

After consuming cannabis, chemical compounds from the drug stay in the user’s system for anywhere from a day to several months, depending on a litany of factors, including the frequency of use, level of THC in the cannabis, the user’s metabolism and the drug testing method used, according to the American Addiction Centers. 

What’s the Other Side Say?

Opponents of the bill say that drug testing is crucial for employers in maintaining a safe work environment, and if an employee comes to work impaired, the employer is liable for any safety concerns that may result from this impairment.

Opinions from all sides of this issue and from both sides of the aisle echoed the need for improved cannabis testing that would determine if employees are impaired, rather than the mere presence of cannabinoids in their system.

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While there is no widely known test for cannabis impairment, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have been studying a noninvasive brain imaging procedure that could indicate THC impairment, according to a press release from last year.

Read More: Washington Senate Approves Bill To Protect Job Applicants Who Use Marijuana From Discrimination (Marijuana Moment)