In the past year, 22 US states have legalized recreational marijuana use and 38 have legalized it medically. This mass change in legislation in recent years has led to varying levels of drug use tolerance across the United States. To keep up with these changes, employment drug testing laws are also changing, with over 500 new bills being introduced in the last year on the topic. In terms of employee drug testing specifically, only five states consider the practice to be legal and 11 states have no laws pertaining to the matter.
In the wake of the legalization of marijuana, positive tests for the substance have increased by 45.2%. This number indicates the possibility for serious problems for workers in safety-sensitive industries. In order to keep these more vulnerable populations safe, more state and industry leaders are adopting drug testing practices. Additionally, anti-cheating methods are becoming more common to crack down on foul play during the testing process. Some states are already putting these anti-tampering policies in place, while affected industries like energy, transportation and construction are starting to test their workforce regularly. These practices are equipping at-risk workers to do their jobs safely and to promote a sober work environment.
Source: USDrugTestCenters.com