How Do Medical Marijuana Laws Affect Your Safety-Sensitive DOT-Mandated Employees?

Medical marijuana laws have been adopted in more than half of all U.S. states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. This is a trend that’s expected to continue throughout the country. Right now, medical marijuana users in these states have protection from criminal prosecution when using marijuana for an approved medical purpose. Additionally, in many states, medical cannabis users can also cultivate their own marijuana without fear of penalty.

What happens when you are a DOT-mandated, safety-sensitive employee?

Confusion Regarding Medical Marijuana Laws

Despite the widespread availability of medical marijuana, it remains classified as a Schedule 1 drug by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Meaning, according to the DEA, marijuana is viewed as “having no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse”.

By contrast, the FDA has approved medical marijuana as a treatment for two rare, severe seizure disorders, Dravet Syndrome and Lennon-Gastaut syndrome. The contradictory medical marijuana laws put the DEA and FDA at odds with state-specific statues. Also, a lot of confusion exists when it comes to safety-sensitive DOT-mandated employees and medical marijuana use.

Can Safety-Sensitive DOT-Mandated Employees Use Medically Prescribed Marijuana?

The current stance of the U.S. Department of Transportation adheres to their long-standing prohibition on any marijuana use. This restriction applies to both medical and recreational marijuana use.

The DOT has made it perfectly clear that personnel who are deemed to hold safety-sensitive DOT-mandated positions cannot use marijuana in any form, for any reason. In a recent press release, the DOT states that “The Department of Transportation’s Drug and Alcohol Testing Regulation…does not authorize ‘medical marijuana’ under a state law to be a valid medical explanation for a transportation employee’s positive drug test results.”

Simply put, the DOT has made it clear that any marijuana found during drug testing of a safety-sensitive DOT-mandated employee will trigger a positive test result.

Partnering with SAP Referral Services

Not surprisingly, this hard-line stance regarding medical marijuana laws and safety-sensitive DOT-mandated employees has led to confusion. If you are an employer to safety-sensitive DOT-mandated employees SAP Referral Services can help. For more information on partnering with SAP Referral Services, a service agent with an extensive network of DOT-qualified substance abuse providers in more than 3,000 locations nationwide, click here.

SAP Referral Services (SRS) is the leading facilitator for mandated substance abuse evaluations. SRS maintains an extensive network of qualified providers in more than 3,000 locations nationwide for testing violations that originate from any of the DOT’s modes including FMCSA, FAA, FRA, FTA, USCG and PHMSA, or a company’s internal drug and alcohol testing policy.