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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom