Apr 8, 2019 8 min read

I think it’s always good every year or two to look at policies, are recent policies onsisient with practice (written policies I mean). with respect to potentioally leagalization of rec cannabis, we ant to be mindful of how that can impact policies. One of htosethat comes quickly to mind is post offer pre-employment applicant drug testing policy. If you are doing some type of applicant type of job drug testing policy, generally speaking, the drug five-pack test tests THC and other drugs, one of the issues is do you want to test for THC in system, the thing we always have to remember, if it passes with state law, medicinal and recrateitonal cannabis is sfill lillegal under federal law. 

As it relates to testing for THC in one’s system, we know THC can stay in ones’s sytem for up to 30 days, so if someone is currently impaired, if it’s post-accident, was the person impaired? One of the things with cannabis,it’s taken a lot longer, our paradigm is that alcohol is legal for recreatinoal purposes as lnog as you’re a certain age, we’velearned if we turn up drunk to work there will most likely be consequences. With the way cannabis has been illegla under state laws, even for medicianl purposes, california is first state, it’s failryl new for meciianal, i submit it is going to be a while before, and some are testing, to say if someon’es impoaired or not impaired, so there’s so me meeasuring stick like there is for BAC, there will take some time to catch up and they’ll 

as it relates to workplace accidnets, every state and federal law requires some kind of insurance policy that covers injuries to employees injured in the workplace, part and parcel of that has to do with premiums and policies, i belive the company policies, As it relates to are there some insurance ocmpanies that no longer write workers comp policies, sure, but oneof the things we as employees and employers, wearing both hats, have a safe working environmrnet for emploeyes and coverage for injureis, so people can get whatever they .

What we need to look at, this is a good reminder, one of hte issues has to do with knwoing what the actual law is in the state, so until pa passes a law regarding recreational marijuana, it might be an exception or exemption, in some states, tehre’s a thing that says employer doesn’t have to violate fedreal law. For medicianl purposes, what does medicianl . We want to be mindufl if someone’s taking it for medicianl reasosns, be mindful that udner state law, under AM deisabilities act, are we engagin in process of detemring if employee if using med marijuana is askingeomployee for accommodation and we have to . Engaging in that process is essetially ereqired.

One of the things is, it goes threefold, educate yourself and know what is exactly teh law as it relates to adult use and cannabis, and two, determine how then you are going to, if at all, change what your policies reflect, one of the main motiviating factors behind haveing a policy that deals with use of drugs adn alcohol is safety, and safety is what we’re looking at, are you impaired on teh job, alcohol, prescirption drugs, is it impairing you to the point that yuor’e causing risk poteitnaily to yourself or co-woerks. Arre you impaired to poin that you’re not doing you rjo. Three, communicat those, in California, between the time the voters passed rec reathional use and went into effet, it was 14-15 months, and when it went inot effect there was a lot of miscommnication, it’s not a get out of jail free card, like yes we can do this, pepole go home and have a glass of wine and relax, and come back to work, there’s no reamiifications. However, if you are impaired by some other type of drug, Presc drugs, cannabis, alcohol, we kneow hey, i f i come back to work impaired, there will be consequences. AT minimum we have to lok at paradigms for being impaired at works, the firefighters, EMTs, the water and power people, those types of things, we wantto make sure those people are not ipiared, with teh fed law, part of the lwearning curve was we as a state with those safety sensitive positisions, whther on not it’s legal udner state lwa and and follow federal la.

People may be comfortable in their current environment, hey if i use this in my off hours, i’m not going to be tested, there’s still a chance someone’s dream job might come aross, and if potential new employer is testing and cannabis is still in system, you could fail a test for a job that comes along, not asyaing you should or shouldn’t, just saying you need to be aware, it’s still, even if legal under state law, illegal under federal law. Again, assuming, in general, if for example, you are not, yo udon’t have a certification, license in a participular state, and it’s recreational nad you’re not using it for medicianal, that interactive process might kick in. The employer can say it’s not 

Michelle Lee Flores, partner at Akerman LLP, national law, employment law and cannabis, medicinal. 360 practice from helping 

CORINNE – Medical marijuana

I think a very imporatn point is to recognize the robustness of the med progeram, with our 21 qualifying ocnditions and the setup the state has put forward swtith the launch of this program, were fully confident that MM industry will remain robust, we think it can remain very strong with adult use as well, we feel the only proimrayr fdidference bewteen teh two will be at point of sales, adult use customers will have to pay a tax on the product where mm patients do not have to pay a tax, we are adocatibng for rather than seeing two indepeendent markets get set up, we want to be able to provide for both thypes of customers/patients at the same failicyt and provide the same proudcsts, service, it would just be mm patients have a separate point of sale place , everything else we see as being. 

We do, and I’m we feel we can support an adult use market, if we get an influx of two three or four times more poeple. we feel it’s an oporutnity to provie access to adults, we find some adults have some concerns gettting on a medical registry, so adult use can bring people who are interested in trying it to meet med. marijaua, Adult use is a way to bring poeple out of the sahdws into legal market, so they get access sto product that is safe, regulated, and would produce tax revenue to the state. I think it’s i can answer it, yes it’s an opporutnity, we’re eager, but the oporutniy is adults in pa having accsws to a safe proeudct and an proudct that has imporved teh qulaity of life of eveyr person who ahs waoked thorugh our door, 94 percent retentinon rate, it’s have a poisitive inmpact on their lifves, we have veterans, and a 96 eyra old patient in Uniontown acrooss the gamut of age, life expierece, 

Kudos to the daprtment of heatlh for 

It’s so important to usher the adult use program the exact same way the meedcial program has been iushered in, so med so that, we are set up to provide one on one staff to paetient experience and consutlation on questions and symptom relief, that’s exactly what we want to set up for our adult users as well, we think the adult use market really should be set up with the intent to educate just like we do in the medical market, and that will eliminate, in our minds, any confusion, cannabis isteslf, even thought there are praeellels betwen med injdustry and pharmacy industry, MM can be used for severe medical cnsiditions, as well as day to day wellness, so whether improving wellness is creating pain relief for general day to day condition, a lot of paietnes sya it’s had an impact on their anxiety and general mporvement of sleep and as a subistitue for alcohol or cigarettes. a lot of what we use for medial paritnes . some epople might be coming in for MM for cancer, some come in to help ability to slepe, we want to work with them the exact. 

I think, probably repearting, but watn to drive home, communicating, we are working now as an industry to work with legislators to avoid setting up tow separate markets, but see these as integrated markets, what we’ve done in MM industry has set up foundation for adult use market. Teh one one one engagement with customer is the primary objective,. It’s heavily regulated, still, for those wh don’t want to get ceritifed it’s available. Rather than view this as two sepearate markets, view MM as foundauitoin aupon which adult use market will be establisehd. It will just be at point of sales wehre tax is levied for recrationd.