Workplace drug testing is under scrutiny because there has been an increase in positive drug tests by employers who smoke marijuana. While many states have workers who engage in the recreational use of marijuana, 29 states have legalized its use in some form or another. Employers, for the most part, continue to enforce a drug-free workplace to ensure employee productivity and safety. If you smoke marijuana, here are three reasons why you should keep a marijuana test kit.
- You Will Be Fired Even if You Use Legally
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the federal government does not mandate private sector workplace testing regulations. Even when the government does business directly with a company, it only requires employers to distribute material to employees about drug use and workplace safety.
It leaves open a legal question in states where legal marijuana use is permitted. Can an employee lose a job if under legitimate use of marijuana? The answer is a simple yes because it is a workplace policy that employees agree to abide by for the sole purpose of employment.
In Colorado, legal use of marijuana rose more than 27 percent while Washington rose by 19 percent. What is at issue for employers is a strict need to keep workplace injury rates as low as possible even though employers know that marijuana does significantly contribute to workplace injury rates.
- It Takes Up to 90 Days to Clear Your System
Also at issue is the time in which marijuana stays in the body, which has been detected up to 90 days after use. When compared to other, more dangerous forms of drugs that secrete within hours of use, the disqualification is at odds with national recreational and medicinal use.
Most states only require a positive drug test to deny employee benefits. The only accurate way to know you will test negative is by self-examination to verify it is no longer in your system. It is also the only way to show you were not under the influence after a positive on-the-job result.
Most companies say they will continue to test because of the increase in usage which leaves employees very few alternatives where legal marijuana use is at issue. Employers are finding it difficult to fill jobs because ordinary citizens enjoy the freedom of legitimate recreational use.
Based on personal use, buying the best at home drug test kits ensure that you will receive a negative test result. Even when you do get a positive result, you have the time to engage in other practices to ensure a drug test does not detect marijuana when it matters the most. The loss of a job will severely impact any family, so it is critical to know your results before you receive one that will change your life both socially and economically.
- Businesses Are Paying Attention to Workplace Safety
According to data from Quest Diagnostics, urinalysis drug test failure is at a 12-year high, which is disqualifying about 4.2 percent of new worker applicants nationally. About 9.4 percent of employees failed urine and hair analysis in 2013. By 2016, the number rose collectively to 9.8 percent.
Marijuana testing conducted by saliva in government facilities also increased by 75 percent from 5.1 percent to 8.9 percent in just a three-year span. Quest Diagnostics found that federal facilities rose in positive results, which set off debate on the need for more comprehensive policies of legal usage.
Some states have overturned the results of employment drug testing because employers didn’t notice employees under the influence. Because of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission findings, employers now monitor drug testing and on-the-job behaviors which significantly raises the chance of drug testing.