Bronx, NY: Many prospective employees abstain from cannabis in the weeks prior to taking a pre-employment drug test, but then return to using the substance quickly thereafter, according to survey data compiled by the diagnostics company Health Street.
Fifty-one percent of respondents said that their most recent job offer required them to pass a pre-employment drug screen for marijuana. Of those respondents with a prior history of cannabis use, 35 percent said that they abstained from the substance for at least one month prior to taking the test. Thirty four percent said that they abstained from marijuana for at least one week.
Following their abstention, 28 percent of respondents said that they returned to using marijuana within one day of taking their pre-employment test. Twenty-nine percent reported doing so within a few days.
Overall, 60 percent of those surveyed said that they had used cannabis within the past year. Most respondents (80 percent) expressed opposition to pre-employment drug testing for cannabis, unless it was for a safety sensitive position.
In recent months, numerous states and municipalities – including Nevada, New York City, and Washington, DC – have enacted legislation limiting employers ability to mandate pre-employment marijuana tests.
For more information, see the NORML Fact Sheet, “Marijuana Legalization and Impact on the Workplace.”