Marijuana legalization and shifting cultural attitudes surrounding cannabis use are driving up positive marijuana tests among U.S. workers. According to a report by drug-testing lab Quest Diagnostics, nearly 4 percent of screenings for marijuana came back positive last year, an increase of more than 8 percent from 2020. That figure is up 50 percent from 2017, as the number of states that have legalized recreational cannabis grew from to 18 from eight, plus the District of Columbia. At the same time, the evolving legal landscape and ongoing labor shortage have compelled many employers to stop testing for marijuana altogether, and in some states, they are barred from factoring test results into hiring decisions. Overall, Quest reported that the proportion of U.S. workers who were positive for various drugs rose to 4.6 percent, the highest level since 2001. With legalization moving ahead, it’s important to lay down clear rules, regulations, and standards concerning marijuana use on the job to ensure workplace safety.
Meanwhile, if you’re wondering why marijuana sales have been soaring over the past two years—blame the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report in the Guardian newspaper. Among the many shake-ups in the social order, the paper explains was the creation of a new cohort of pandemic-era stoners, not only due to the lockdowns but also the de-stigmatization of the drug and ongoing legalization. Legal marijuana sales increased by 120 percent in 2020 and 61 percent in 2021, with one report noting that Americans bought $18 billion worth of cannabis during the first coronavirus year.
And finally, a new study in the American Journal of Psychiatr found that long-term cannabis users show deficits in cognition and small hippocampal volume by midlife. Results showed that long-term cannabis users’ IQ declined from childhood to midlife, with resultant poorer learning and processing speed relative to their childhood IQ, as well as memory and attention problems, that could not be explained by habitual use of tobacco, alcohol, or other illicit drugs.