Denver, CO: The percentage of Colorado companies that engage in pre-employment screening for cannabis is declining, as is the percentage of businesses that impose policies calling for the dismissal of employers who test positive for THC metabolites on a drug screen, according to survey data compiled by the Denver-based Employers Collective.
According to the survey, only 48 percent of Colorado companies with "well defined" drug testing policies will fire an employee for a first-time positive test result for cannabis — down from 53 percent in 2014. Five percent of companies surveyed reported having dropped marijuana from their pre-employment testing within the past two years.
"What we’re seeing here is basically it’s (concerns about employees misusing marijuana in the workplace) a nonissue," an attorney for the group said.
Standard workplace drug screening identifies the presence of inert drug metabolites (breakdown products), but not the active drug itself. Carboxy-THC, the most common metabolite of THC, may be detectable in urine for weeks or even months following previous marijuana exposure.
For more information, contact Kevin Mahmalji, NORML Outreach Coordinator. NORML’s fact-sheet, "Marijuana Legalization and Impact on the Workplace," appears online.