Marijuana Drug Testing in Colorado Declines

Colorado drug testing for weed is in decline

Marijuana drug testing in Colorado is declining— seven percent of businesses there stopped drug testing for weed before making new hires and 3 percent have dropped it completely.

Colorado drug testing laws are changing quick. Apparently business in the state are starting to stop drug testing for weed before making new hires. According to The Denver Post seven percent of Colorado companies stopped testing for marijuana on pre-employment tests and three percent of the state’s businesses stopped testing for weed completely. That’s great because nobody likes to submit to a urine drug test.

“It’s because we have low unemployment,” said Curtis Graves, an attorney with the Mountain States Employers Council. “They may prefer a zero-tolerance approach. From a business perspective, they just can’t afford to be as choosy now.”

He speculated that some employers would resume testing for marijuana if the unemployment rate ticked up to 6 or 7 percent from 3 percent in December. The post continues to with:

The results of a December survey by the Mountain States Employers Council marks a shift from its 2014 survey — the year recreational consumption of pot became legal — when one in five employers reported implementing more stringent drug-testing policies. But this doesn’t necessarily mean businesses are OK with their employees smoking weed.

MSEC sent out surveys to 2,933 businesses and received 609 back, almost double the sample size of the 2014 survey, when 1,648 companies were polled and 334 responded.

About 10 percent of companies in the Denver and Boulder areas — considered a single region in the survey — dropped marijuana from their pre-employment tests and 2 percent removed the drug it from all drug testing. About 9 percent of the companies from Pueblo that responded omitted marijuana from pre-employment screening. In resort areas, 8 percent of businesses removed marijuana from all drug tests, including pre-employment.

Drug testing in general is down across Colorado, the exception being Pueblo, Graves said. Across the state, 62 percent of businesses test for drugs, down from 77 percent that tested in 2014. The Denver and Boulder region had the smallest percentage of businesses that drug tested at 57 percent. Pueblo had the most with 89 percent.

The industries that had the highest percentage of businesses that drug test employees were mining, utilities/transportation/communication and construction. The industries with the lowest percentage were insurance, financial/real estate and software/hardware.

The most common times for tests were pre-employment and when there was reasonable suspicion of use. A majority of the employers that drug tested also did so after a workplace accident.

How do you feel about the changing Colorado drug testing laws or drug testing for marijuana in general, man? Should companies still have the right to subject future employees to a marijuana drug test if they’re located in a state with legal marijuana? Have you ever lost a job or didn’t get one because of failing a marijuana drug test in a state with legal marijuana or while in possession of a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana. We want to hear from you, man, tell us about your experience in the comment section below.

SOURCE: denverpost.com



One Response to “Marijuana Drug Testing in Colorado Declines”

  1. Kara Mercedes

    I want to fight that drug testing should still take place but to excuse marijuana. Maijuana is not a drug and should not be labeled as one. Therefore marijuana should be taking off the list of drugs to test for. I am a great worker and need to find a place that dose not test for thc. Fight for this because over 75% of people that smoke weed can’t work at decent places and its absolutely ridiculous.

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