Pubdate: Fri, 31 Mar 2017
Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC)
Copyright: 2017 Prince George Citizen
Contact:  http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350
Author: Jack Knox
Page: A6

LEGALIZED WEED COULD STILL COST YOUR JOB

Urinalysis, the most common method of testing, can determine whether
metabolites of a drug are present in your system, but cannot determine
if you are stoned.

Here's something to think of as Canada strolls toward marijuana-law
reform: even after smoking dope becomes legal, it could still cost you
your job. It won't even matter if you're not stoned at work. If you're
among those who submit to drug tests as a condition of employment, you
could be out the door.

Canada isn't like the U.S., where close to half the workforce is
subject to urinalysis. Still, from the navy to the oil patch, there
are plenty of places in the Great White North where peeing in a bottle
may be required.

That won't change once Ottawa makes marijuana legit.

"The legality is immaterial," says University of Victoria professor
Scott MacDonald, the assistant director of the Centre for Addictions
Research of B.C. What employers care about is whether you can do your
job while under the influence. It's the same rule that applies to
booze: It's legal, but that doesn't mean you can be drunk at work.

The big difference with marijuana - and this is huge - is that there's
no easy, certain test for drug impairment. There's no equivalent to
the breathalyzer.

Urinalysis, the most common method of testing, can determine whether
metabolites of a drug are present in your system, but cannot determine
if you are stoned. And while all traces of some substances such as
cocaine and alcohol disappear with days, metabolites of marijuana show
up for weeks.

People can test positive long after they're high.

"That's the big shortcoming," MacDonald said.

In some industries, workers will use alcohol or cocaine instead of
marijuana while on leave, fearing they'll test positive when they fly
back to camp.

This is all controversial territory in Canada, where the courts have
taken a much narrower approach than those of our neighbours.

In the U.S., where workplace testing became popular in the 1980s as a
weapon in Ronald Reagan's War On Drugs, the idea has been to depress
drug use in general. To that end, it hasn't been a roaring success:
CNN reported this week that positive test results are on the rise, the
increase tied to a heroin crisis in rural America and legalization of
marijuana in states such as Washington and Colorado.

In fact, American factories are turning to refugees because in some
places it's becoming hard to find enough U.S.-born workers who test
clean. The numbers are particularly high in certain sectors. CNN said
random testing at a Colorado oil and trucking company found 80 per
cent of the workers tested positive.

Unlike their American counterparts, Canadian courts treat drug testing
solely as a balancing act between individual rights and workplace
safety. The point isn't to eradicate drug use but to stop Buddy from
driving over you with his front-end loader.

It is generally accepted that employers may demand a test if you had
an accident or sketchy incident at work, or they have reason to think
you are impaired on the job, or if you are coming back to work after
substance-abuse treatment.

Our courts tend to frown on applying a broader brush,
though.

In 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada, in a case involving New
Brunswick pulp mill workers, ruled against random drug and alcohol
testing, even in dangerous workplaces, unless the employer can prove
there's a related safety problem that needs to be solved.

But then came a 2016 Alberta court decision that allowed Suncor to
continue testing thousands of workers in safety-sensitive jobs in the
oil patch. That one has yet to be resolved.

In practical terms, employers can often write the rules until
successfully challenged, and there are some indications the public is
fine with that. A 2016 Insights West poll showed three in five
Canadians thought employers should be able to administer drug tests if
marijuana becomes legal.

It's not all about rooting out and banishing abusers; it can also be
about getting people the help they need to keep them in their jobs.
Sue Donaldson of Victoria's Pegasus Recovery Solutions says people in
safety-sensitive positions - medical professionals or pilots, say -
can be monitored for five years after treatment to help keep them on
the straight and narrow.

"It's one of the tools that can be helpful in facilitating ongoing,
enduring recovery."

But have no doubt, in some sectors the issue is black and white.

You test positive, you don't work.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt