The legal landscape surrounding marijuana continues to shift as cities, states and the federal government adapt to ongoing legalization of the drug and its impact on society. In New York City, for example, a new lawthat took effect in May prohibits employers from requiring prospective employees to submit to a drug test for THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana.
The law describes such background testing as an “unlawful discriminatory practice,” but wisely makes exceptions for continuing testing for jobs in law enforcement, childcare and any position requiring a driver’s license. Meanwhile, a recently submitted House bill takes up the issue of impaired driving while under the influence of marijuana, which is emerging as a problem in states where pot is legal.
The bill, introduced by Democratic leaders in Congress, requires legal marijuana states to promote education about the dangers of driving while under the influence of the drug and programs to curb such behavior, to reduce injuries and deaths. A 2019 CDC report found that 12 million Americans said they had driven under the influence of weed in 2018, and urged public health officials to develop standards and toxicology tests for drivers who are high on pot, which do not yet exist.
And finally, doctors are prescribing fewer opioid painkillers to injured workers than they were years ago, according to a workers’ compensation study. Instead of highly addictive opioids, physicians are turning to non-addictive painkillers, alternative therapies including exercise and massage—or no meds at all. The decline is the result of efforts to curb overprescribing, one of the main drivers of the opioid epidemic. Despite the decrease, however, the report noted that opioids are still the most frequently used painkiller in 10 of 27 states surveyed.