For MY business, that is! For yours? Not so much. Here’s why it’s good for me:
Post-accident testing
A key part of any company’s risk management program is to drug test employees immediately following a workplace accident. It’s a simple matter of ruling out (or in) drugs or alcohol as a factor in the accident and defending a potential workers comp claim. Smart employers test employees after an accident. Not-so-smart ones don’t.
This is good for me, because employees that smoke pot have more accidents! Cha-ching!
Drug and alcohol policy development
When pot is legalized, how does an employer keep it out of the workplace? Simple. Same as alcohol. Alcohol is legal, but it’s an employer’s choice whether s/he wants to allow it in the work place. Most say no. It’s in the company policy — if there is one. Same goes for drugs, including marijuana. The courts in states with legal marijuana have taken the side of the employer in these situations. For me, it means more employers will need to write or re-write their drug and alcohol policies. If they want good, thorough policies, they can call us. That’s good for business too!
Pre-employment testing
With a shiny new policy in place, employers really need to be on the lookout for new hires that smoke weed, so those that don’t test now will have to start. That is, unless they prefer to hire people who are less productive, more likely to miss work, and more likely to show up late or make mistakes. If that’s what they want, great. Most don’t, so they will need to test. More pre-employment testing is good for me too!
Random testing
Where marijuana is legally available — and even where it isn’t — random testing is the only true deterrent. An employer who wants to keep drugs out of the workplace must have a random drug testing program.
Legalized marijuana? Bring it on!
