{"id":3585,"date":"2026-08-04T13:41:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T13:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=3585"},"modified":"2026-08-04T13:41:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T13:41:19","slug":"employers-are-grappling-with-their-cannabis-policies-expert-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=3585","title":{"rendered":"Employers are grappling with their cannabis policies | Expert opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div><audio><\/audio><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Cannabis is seemingly everywhere. Is it in the workplace?<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>More than 64 million Americans over the age of 12 used marijuana in 2024, a 19% increase since 2021, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Health. And while cannabis is restricted to medical use in Pennsylvania, customers can now easily purchase these products over the bridge at more than 300 shops in New Jersey, where state law allows recreational use.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=3583\">Penn receives $10 million to study new treatment for \u2018relentless,\u2019 rare genetic disease with no cure<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Currently, cannabis is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance by the federal government. But an active effort to move it to the less restricted Schedule III classification is underway. If that happens, cannabis use will likely become even more common.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>All of this is having an impact on employers\u2019 drug policies. Given its widespread use, and predicted growth in popularity, should cannabis be included in the testing and screening of employees at all?<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Should employment drug screens include cannabis?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Some experts, like Marissa Mastroianni, an employment attorney at Cole Schotz in Hackensack, think not.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIn most cases I recommend clients drop cannabis from their testing and screening in light of the employment protections being passed for cannabis users across the country and particularly New Jersey,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>New Jersey\u2019s Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization (CREAMM) Act passed in 2021 and provides employment protections for workers as a result of the state\u2019s legalization of adult-use cannabis.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI see many employers simply dropping cannabis from their standard drug testing panels unless federal law, industry rules, or a safety-sensitive job requires it,\u201d Mastroianni said. One of the big reasons, she points out, is that cannabis, unlike alcohol, can remain in your bloodstream for many days after it\u2019s been consumed.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIn both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the old blanket zero-tolerance approach just doesn\u2019t work anymore,\u201d she said. \u201cThe focus has shifted \u2014 it is no longer about whether someone uses cannabis at all, but whether they are actually impaired at work.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>A changing process for drug testing<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Drug testing, depending on the company and its industry, is still very common, and for good reason. But the process is changing.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cReasonable-suspicion testing, where a supervisor sees actual signs of impairment, is really the most defensible and practical approach right now,\u201d said Mastroianni. \u201dRandom testing is best saved for safety-sensitive positions or jobs where federal regulations require it, like Department of Transportation-regulated roles.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Employers must be careful when requiring testing, said Marjorie Obod, co-chair of the labor and employment practice at Philadelphia law firm Dilworth Paxson.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cBecause Pennsylvania recognizes medical marijuana it prohibits employers from discriminating against somebody based on its use,\u201d she said. Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) rules say employers \u201ccan\u2019t just go drug test everybody.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=3581\">How rogue officers turned a nationwide camera network into a tool for stalking<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>So, Obod said, \u201cif there\u2019s an incident, you\u2019ve got to have some proof that the drug abuse had something to do with the incident.\u201d <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>To minimize potential discrepancies, Obod recommends that a company\u2019s screening and testing policies include \u201cat least two people, not just one person claiming that the person needs to get tested.\u201d <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Reporting incidents<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>A good policy must also address how to handle drug-related incidents. I learned this recently when visiting a manufacturing client, where one employee arrived at work under the influence of opiates and had a violent reaction on the factory floor. Luckily, the client had a medical kit on hand that included the drug Narcan. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The employee was ultimately fine. My client, having seen this before, had a strict protocol. He said keeping medical supplies handy and providing training for all workers on how to identify and address a potential substance abuse issue has been important.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cAll employees should be on the lookout for suspected drug or alcohol impairments,\u201d Mastroianni said. \u201cWhen an incident occurs it should be documented in writing with all reports going to a designated point of contact \u2014 like an HR professional or safety officer \u2014 and grounded in what someone actually observed like slurred speech, or unsteady body movements.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Obod said it\u2019s important to have \u201ca clear, written reporting protocol\u201d so employees can flag suspected impairment without worrying about retaliation. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIf there\u2019s an incident, you\u2019ve got to have some proof that the drug abuse had something to do with the incident,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Your cannabis policy is your policy<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Some businesses, particularly those that handle hazardous materials or are engaged in higher-risk work, will create drug policies in keeping with stringent regulatory rules. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>But for the most part, as long as you\u2019re in compliance with both federal law and state laws, which differ in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, you\u2019ll be free to determine the extent of cannabis testing and screening requirements you want to include. Considering the changing complexity of this issue, it\u2019s critical to have an expert, such as an HR professional or employment attorney, perform regular reviews of your company\u2019s drug policies.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cYou have OSHA, you have the Americans with Disabilities Act, you have privacy issues, you have governmental, federal law, state, you have all of these things,\u201d said Obod. \u201cIf you\u2019re not talking to a lawyer, you may not recognize that your drug policies are not in compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=3579\">Pa. lawmakers have proposed dozens of ways to fix the state\u2019s low housing stock. They\u2019re making a database instead.<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As cannabis becomes more widely used and legally allowed in more places, employers are adjusting their drug policies, Gene Marks writes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-small-business"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Employers are grappling with their cannabis policies | Expert opinion - Corporate Movers USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=3585\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Employers are grappling with their cannabis policies | Expert opinion - 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