Michigan is considering waiving pre-employment cannabis testing

Michigan policymakers are considering major changes to the state’s drug testing policy, particularly regarding cannabis use.

The potential changes come more than four years after local voters approved a ballot measure that would legalize recreational marijuana use for adults 21 and older.

In a letter sent to human resources officials earlier this month, the state Public Service Commission requested public comment as it considers various tweaks to Michigan policy.

“In recent years there have been changes in state laws regulating controlled substances across the country. “Michigan voters legalized medical marijuana use in 2008 and adult recreational use in 2018,” the letter, mailed May 12, reads — marijuana employment testing mandatory for classified employees hired in non-testing positions become. The elimination of these on-employment marijuana tests would not affect the availability of reasonable suspicion or follow-up marijuana testing for classified employees, including candidates who become employees.”

The letter explains how in the late 1990s, “collective bargaining agreements added provisions allowing for similar reasonable suspicions, follow-up investigations, random selection, and post-accident drug testing for exclusively represented workers.” Federal law also mandates pre-employment and employee testing for some Test positions intended for the operation of specific vehicles.”

“The 1998 regulations directed the state director of human resources to establish prohibited levels of drugs in regulations. These regulations – and collective bargaining agreements – provided for testing according to federally established procedures. While the regulations technically allow agencies to seek approval for testing for any drug on Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 of the state health act, the standard testing protocol used by the state since 1998 provides for testing for five classes of drugs: marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines and phencyclidine,” the letter said.

The letter also noted that since the new cannabis law went into effect in December 2018, “approximately 350 applicants for classified jobs have tested positive for marijuana on recruitment tests.”

Under current Michigan rules, these applicants are barred from applying for any other position with the state for three years.

“While many of these sanctions have now been lifted, a few hundred remain in effect. The Commission could adopt rule language that would allow for amnesty by lifting continuing sanctions based on a pre-employment drug test for a non-test position with a positive result for marijuana. “Such a measure would not result in employment for these candidates but would allow them to apply for classified positions rather than having to wait three years after sanctioning,” the letter reads.

As states lifted their longstanding ban on recreational marijuana use, lawmakers and regulators have recalibrated drug testing guidelines to align with the new cannabis laws.

Earlier this month, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill into law that will require employees to be protected from being tested for cannabis.

The legislation states that “it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person upon initial recruitment for employment where the discrimination is based on: (a) the person’s use of cannabis outside of the workplace and off the workplace; or (b) an employer-mandated drug test which determined that the person has non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites in their hair, blood, urine or other bodily fluids.”

Professional sports leagues have also followed suit. A new contract between the NBA and its players, ironed out last month, will remove cannabis from the banned substances list. The new deal will also allow players to promote and invest in cannabis companies.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced the reform in 2020.

“Given all the things that were happening in society, given all the pressure and stress that the players were under, we decided that we didn’t have to act like Big Brother now,” Silver said at the time. “I think society’s views on marijuana [have] changed to some extent.”