Nevada Forces Employers to Hire Drug Users
Nevada to Force Employers to Hire Applicants Who Fail Drug Tests
(Alexandria, VA) – Beginning January 1st, employers in Nevada will have no choice but to hire applicants who test positive for marijuana on preemployment drug screenings as a result of a law passed by state officials. Nevada is the first state in the country to pass such a law and this will undoubtedly lead to grave consequences.
“Forcing businesses to hire those who fail a drug test is a terrible decision for public health and safety,” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana and a former senior drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration. “According to a recent survey, some one in four marijuana users admit to using the drug while on the job. Given the affects marijuana can have on the brain, this law is actively putting many innocent people at risk.”
More marijuana use in the workplace leads to increased cost for employers. Workplace accidents, injuries, absenteeism, and disciplinary problems are just the tip of the iceberg for the challenges legal marijuana brings. According to the National Institute on Health, employees who test positive for marijuana on a preemployment test are responsible for 55% more industrial accidents, have 85% more injuries, and had 75% greater absenteeism than those who did not test positive.
The marijuana found in “legal” states is not the ditch weed like the 5% THC marijuana of Woodstock, the marijuana industry of today features marijuana with THC contents greater than 40% for marijuana flower and concentrates, candies, gummies, sodas and ice creams infused with up to 99% pure THC. Use of this high potency marijuana has been linked with instances of severe mental illness such as schizophrenia and can greatly impair the user’s ability to think, drive, or operate machinery.
“The rest of the country should take heed: the result of the promotion of drugs leads to increased use, which in turn leads to a less drug-free workforce,” continued Dr. Sabet. “This law will result in a normalization of marijuana use in the workforce, which is ultimately bad for public health, safety, and productivity.”