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A GOP congressman filed a bill to create a federal workforce training program meant to provide government employers with information about the impacts of on-duty impairment from marijuana and other drugs, as well as best practices for substance use prevention.<\/p>\n
Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) introduced the legislation, titled the \u201cPreventing Impairment in the Workplace Act,\u201d late last month.<\/p>\n
The proposal would authorize the secretary of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to study programs designed to \u201ceducate employers, workers, and relevant workplace populations\u201d on the use of cannabis, opioids and other drugs on the job.<\/p>\n
That research would involve looking into prevention strategies and safety risks from on-duty marijuana impairment.<\/p>\n
The department would further be tasked with developing a \u201cworkplace training program to be made available to full-time and part-time employees and individuals employed by a State or the Federal Government.\u201d It would need to create that program in consultation with a national non-profit organization \u201cwith relevant experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program would similarly cover the impacts of on-the-job impairment from cannabis and other substances, the need for prevention policies, \u201csigns and symptoms\u201d of impairment, how to employers should respond to perceived impairment and guidance on \u201crelevant laws and regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 \u201cWe owe it to every American to create the safest possible workplace,\u201d Owens said<\/a> in a press release, adding that the overdose crisis that\u2019s largely attributable to drugs like opioids and methamphetamine underscores the urgency of the legislation.<\/p>\n By the federal government\u2019s own admission, there have not been any reported incidences of a cannabis-related overdose deaths.<\/p>\n The bill<\/a>, which does not have any cosponsors, \u201cmeets this crisis head on with an all-of-the-above strategy by creating a national training program to help employers prevent, recognize, and respond to impairment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Jenny Burke, vice president of impairment practice at the National Safety Council (NSC), said that it\u2019s \u201cso important to create avenues for employers to address these safety risks that are often under-investigated yet pervasive on and off the job.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis bill will provide a path for employers to effectively recognize and respond to all types of impairment, which will save lives,\u201d she said. \u201cNSC stands ready to help implement large-scale workplace training and evidence-based best practices centered on safety.\u201d<\/p>\n As more states have moved to legalize marijuana in some form, workplace cannabis policies have been under close scrutiny.<\/p>\n The nation\u2019s largest union representing federal employees recently adopted a resolution in support of marijuana legalization and calling for an end to policies that penalize federal workers<\/a> who use cannabis responsibly while they\u2019re off the clock in states where it is legal.<\/p>\n A federal marijuana legalization bill filed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) last month contains a provision that would specifically prohibit federal employers from testing workers for cannabis<\/a>,\u00a0with certain exceptions for sensitive positions such as law enforcement and those involving national security.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, House Appropriations Committee leadership recently urged the White House to \u201ccontinue to review policies and guidelines regarding hiring and firing of individuals who use marijuana in states where that individual\u2019s private use of marijuana is not prohibited under the law of the State\u201d as part of a\u00a0Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) spending report<\/a>.<\/p>\n It specifically requests that the executive branch apply drug testing standards with \u201cconsistency and fairness.\u201d<\/p>\n In June, the Senate Intelligence Committee\u00a0separately adopted an amendment<\/a>\u00a0from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) that would prohibit the federal government from denying people the security clearances they need to work at intelligence agencies simply because they\u2019ve used marijuana.<\/p>\n But in general, federal agencies have been reluctant to loosen cannabis-related employment rules despite state efforts to legalize cannabis for medical and recreational use.<\/p>\n For example, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently proposed a changes to drug testing policies for federal workers that would clarify that having a doctor\u2019s recommendation for medical marijuana or any other Schedule I drug is not a valid excuse for a positive drug test.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the director of national intelligence (DNI) said late last year that federal employers\u00a0shouldn\u2019t outright reject security clearance applicants<\/a>\u00a0over past use and should use discretion when it comes to those with cannabis investments in their stock portfolios.<\/p>\n FBI updated its hiring policies last year to make it so candidates are only automatically disqualified from joining the agency if they\u00a0admit to having used marijuana within one year<\/a>\u00a0of applying. Previously, prospective employees of the agency could not have used cannabis within the past three years.<\/p>\n The Department of Transportation (DOT) also took a different approach to its cannabis policy in 2020, stating in a notice that\u00a0it would not be testing drivers for CBD<\/a>. However, DOT recently reiterated that the workforce it regulates is prohibited from using marijuana and\u00a0will continue to be tested for THC<\/a>, regardless of state cannabis policy.<\/p>\n U.S. Rep Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) sent a letter to the head of DOT in May, stating that the agency\u2019s policies on drug testing truckers and other commercial drivers for marijuana are\u00a0unnecessarily costing people their jobs<\/a>\u00a0and contributing to supply chain issues.<\/p>\n The Environment Protection Agency (EPA)\u00a0also emphasized to its workers<\/a>\u00a0that they are prohibited from using marijuana\u2014or directly investing in the industry\u2014no matter the state law or changes in \u201csocial norms\u201d around cannabis.<\/p>\n And while the Biden administration has instituted a policy of\u00a0granting waivers to certain workers<\/a>\u00a0who admit to prior cannabis use, it\u2019s come under fire from advocates following reports that it fired or otherwise punished dozens of staffers who were honest about their history with marijuana.<\/p>\n Then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki\u00a0attempted to minimize the fallout<\/a>, without much success, and her office released a statement last year stipulating that\u00a0nobody was fired for \u201cmarijuana usage from years ago,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0nor has anyone been terminated \u201cdue to casual or infrequent use during the prior 12 months.\u201d<\/p>\n At the state level, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D)\u00a0recently signed an executive order<\/a>\u00a0to provide broad professional licensing protections for workers who use marijuana in compliance with state law. The move also prevents state agencies from assisting in any out-of-state investigations related to lawful cannabis conduct that could result in employment penalties.<\/p>\n Also, a union representing firefighters has claimed credit for a New York City legal directive ordering government agencies, including the New York City Fire Department (NYFD) and New York Police Department (NYPD), to\u00a0cease drug testing workers for marijuana<\/a>\u00a0since the state enacted legalization.<\/p>\n Last year, the state Department of Labor separately announced in guidance that New York employers are no longer allowed to\u00a0drug test most workers for marijuana<\/a>, with limited exceptions. Even prior to the enactment of legalization, New York City officials had established a\u00a0local ban on pre-employment drug testing<\/a>\u00a0for cannabis.<\/p>\n Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) signed a bill last month that prohibits most workplaces from\u00a0firing or otherwise punishing employees<\/a>\u00a0for off-duty marijuana use.<\/p>\n In Missouri, the St. Louis County Council\u00a0approved a bill in March<\/a>\u00a0to ban pre-employment and random drug testing for cannabis for most county workers.<\/p>\n Arkansas Supreme Court Orders State To Put Marijuana Legalization Initiative On Ballot, But Votes May Not Be Counted<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Congressman Files Bill To Prevent Marijuana Impairment For Government Workers<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A GOP congressman filed a bill to create a federal workforce training program meant to provide government employers with information about the impacts of on-duty impairment from marijuana and other drugs, as well as best practices for substance use prevention. Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) introduced the legislation, titled the \u201cPreventingContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":56523,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56522"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56522"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56524,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56522\/revisions\/56524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Congressman Files Bill To Prevent Marijuana Impairment For Government Workers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"