Pubdate: Sat, 08 Dec 2012
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2012 The Associated Press
Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/send-a-letter/
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Authors: Kristen Wyatt and Gene Johnson
Page: 5A

'LEGAL' DOESN'T MEAN BOSS WILL LIKE IT

Colorado, Washington Must Hash Out What to Do If Off-Hours Tokes 
Affect On-Job Drug Tests

DENVER (AP) - Pot may be legal, but workers may want to check with 
their boss before they grab the pipe or a joint during off hours.

Businesses in Washington state, where the drug is legal, and 
Colorado, where it will be by January, are trying to figure out how 
to deal with employees who use it on their own time and then fail a drug test.

It is yet another uncertainty that has come with pot legalization as 
many ask how the laws will affect them.

"There's just an incredible amount of gray right now" about how 
marijuana legalization affects employers, said Sandra Hagen Solin of 
the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance, a coalition of chambers 
of commerce.

Police departments are especially worried. Officers take oaths to 
protect all laws, state and federal, and pot is still prohibited 
under federal law.

The Seattle Police Department is reviewing its policies on drug use 
by officers or prospective officers, spokesman Sgt. Whitcomb said, 
adding that it's unlikely off-duty officers will be allowed to use 
pot. The department might ease its requirement that applicants not 
have used marijuana in the previous three years.

The Denver Police Department is reviewing Colorado's marijuana law, 
which goes into effect in January. The department has no plans to 
change employment practices, spokesman John White said.

"Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, so officers would 
not under any scenario be allowed to use marijuana," White said. 
White wasn't sure about pre-employment marijuana use.

Other employers, especially those with federal contracts, are 
concerned about what the laws mean for them. One Colorado business 
group has pleaded for clarity in a letter to the White House, which 
hasn't said if it will sue to block the law.

"The uncertainty created will cause havoc for our members and hamper 
their efforts to maintain drug-free worksites," wrote Mark Latimer, 
head of the Rocky Mountain chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors.

The havoc Latimer refers to is confusion over a law passed with 
cigarette smokers in mind. Colorado's Lawful Off Duty Activities law 
says workers can't be dismissed for legal behavior off the clock. A 
case pending in a state appeals court could settle the question.

Some employers are required by law to conduct drug testing, including 
in industries regulated by the U.S. Departments of Transportation, 
Energy and Defense. In other cases, companies or agencies that 
receive federal money, including police agencies, are required to 
maintain drug-free workplaces.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom