FAQ #7: How does Prop 203 affect employers?

QUESTION: Will employers be able to fire a marijuana cardholder for failing a drug test?

ANSWER: No.  Prop 203 creates a protected class of drug users who will be exempt from workplace safety and compliance laws.

Protections similar to DUI exemptions are given to marijuana cardholders in the workplace.  Employers can’t ask cardholders about marijuana use in an interview and can’t discriminate or terminate an employee who is a cardholder on the basis of a failed drug test.  Again, there is a presumption that a marijuana cardholder always is using marijuana for medical purposes.  Employers will have to prove that an employee is actually impaired due to marijuana use.  There is no definition of what constitutes actual impairment, so lawsuits will ensue.  Employees who use marijuana before work could pose threats to the safety of other employees and property, all at great liability to employers.

Imagine a workplace where employees show up for work after smoking marijuana, putting other employees and the public at risk, and there is nothing you can do about it!  Expect insurance rates to increase, productivity to decline and new, unwelcome challenges to be presented in workplace safety and compliance.  We don’t want these issues in Arizona!