Recreational Drug Use and The Department of Transportation

As most people are aware, some states have passed initiatives recently that permit the use of marijuana for “recreational” purposes.  While not all states have passed these, it raises the issue of how the DOT will handle these new laws as they relate to the longstanding regulations in place against drug use by transportation employees.

Currently, the DOT has regulations against marijuana use by safety-sensitive transportation employees.  These include pilots, school bus drivers, truck drivers, train engineers, subway operators, aircraft maintenance personnel, transit fire-armed security personnel, ship captains and emergency response personnel.  The DOT has made it known that these new state initiatives will have no bearing on the routine drug testing program that is currently in place.  Their regulation will continue to stay the same, by not authorizing the use of Schedule I drugs, which include marijuana.  This includes not verifying a drug test as negative, even if it is in a state that has passed either a recreational or medical marijuana law. 

PeopleG2 offers drug testing options to all of its clients.  Our professional sales staff is available to answer any questions about drug testing, or any of our other background screening options.  The new laws being created in some states around “recreational” marijuana use will cause companies in those states to evaluate their drug use and drug testing policies.  PeopleG2 is here to help if you decide that adding this feature to your existing employment screening package is what is needed.