New Jersey Legalization Bill Allows Employers To Fire Over Marijuana Use

New Jersey residents eagerly awaiting the chance to use marijuana without fear of arrest will have one more hurdle to pass before they are home free: their employer.

The New Jersey bill legalizing recreational marijuana includes an amendment that allows employers to prohibit employees from using drugs, even if it means testing for marijuana.

“Even though this is quote, unquote going to be legal, you don’t have to allow people to have it in the workplace,” said Michelle Lee Flores, an employment lawyer in Los Angeles who specializes in cannabis law with the firm Akerman.

New Jersey lawmakers are inching toward a vote that, if approved, would make the state the 11th nationwide to allow adults to possess and use small amounts of marijuana.

The bill heading to the floor alleviates concerns of employer groups who wondered what would become of their drug testing policies.

Marijuana poses a dilemma. Workers can consume marijuana on a Saturday night and not be impaired on Monday. But THC, the chemical responsible for the drug’s psychological effects, can stay in their system — and show up on in a drug test — for as long as a month. [Read more at Asbury Park Press]