Substance Abuse Program Administrators Association (SAPAA) publishes a position paper on Medical Marijuana and Legalized Marijuana

Substance Abuse Program Administrators Association (SAPAA) published a position paper regarding Medical Marijuana and Legalized Marijuana-below are sections from the paper that is relevant to employer’s drug free work place and regulated programs. 

Twenty states and the District of Columbia now have medical marijuana laws that vary greatly in content and scope, thereby presenting different challenges for Human Resource Professionals and their organizations. State legislative initiatives must be monitored closely because additional states are passing laws on medical marijuana on an ongoing basis.

These states that have passed medical marijuana laws include 1) Alaska, 2) Arizona, 3) California, 4) Colorado, 5) Connecticut, 6) Delaware, 7) Hawaii, 8) Illinois 9) Maine (the Maine law was amended retroactively to December 12, 2009), 10) Massachusetts, 11) Michigan, 12) Montana (13) Nevada, 14) New Hampshire 15) New Jersey, 16) New Mexico, 17) Oregon, 18) Rhode Island, 19) Vermont, and 20) Washington. Please note that the Illinois and New Hampshire laws were only recently signed by the Governors in Illinois (August 1, 2013) and New Hampshire (July 23, 2013). The Illinois law is effective date January 1, 2014 and the New Hampshire law will be practically effective October 2013 because implementation cannot begin until the practical logistics are in place such as access to medical marijuana, registry details, and regulations published.

In addition; Washington and Colorado legalize Marijuana—

“Please note that the popular press predicts litigation on the Colorado and Washington legalization of marijuana. Although whether to accept medical marijuana as a reasonable medical explanation is an employer policy election for Non-Mandated, Non-Regulated, Non-DOT testing programs, the laws in Colorado and Washington do not require an employer to accept a marijuana explanation from a donor.”

Substance Abuse Program Administrators Association (SAPAA) supports the current legal position of the federal government, including the United States Department of Transportation’s position on the use of medical marijuana. Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance ODAPC’s official position that medical marijuana is not a reasonable medical explanation for a positive DOT drug test. Marijuana, including medical marijuana, continues to not be considered a reasonable medical explanation for a marijuana positive, as per prior guidance from ODAPC.