To Test or Not To Test
That is the question…
In our capacity as a drug and alcohol testing professionals, we have come across many business owners and employers that have outright refused to drug test their employees or applicants because they feel that doing so would cause them to lose half or more of their current employees and significantly reduce their overall applicant pool. When asked what makes them think that, they answer with complete confidence that the kind of people they employ are frequently found to be users of marijuana, and as a result, would never pass a drug test. Sadly, we have to agree – they probably wouldn’t pass a typical drug test.
Fact of the matter is, there are some industries that are more likely to employ
users of marijuana. These are typically lower paid jobs or hard labor type jobs such as landscapers, restaurant workers, hospitality workers, construction laborers, etc. Employers and business owners in these, and similar industries often struggle to find enough help to meet demand and simply make the executive decision to eliminate drug testing altogether.
Then we ask them the only question left to ask –
“So you trust a crystal meth user, cocaine addict, pill popper or heroin junkie to take care of your customers, drive your company vehicles and represent your company to general public?”
Without fail, the answer is a quick, “no way, of course not.” Our reply is just as quick… then why aren’t you testing for those drugs?
With states across the country legalizing marijuana use for medicinal and recreational use, the stigma of marijuana users has decreased dramatically and marijuana use has become more acceptable overall in society. We are not here to debate whether employers and business owners should be testing for marijuana or not. There are pros and cons on both sides of that question and that decision must ultimately be made by the individual employer.
The primary goal of Carolina Testing is to serve our clients and meet their specific needs. The need for a drug screen that tests for drugs of concern for a specific employer has never been greater than it is today. As a result, we have introduced a custom drug test options that does not test for the marijuana metabolite known as THC. This test is available as a rapid urine test, providing negative test results to the employer within 15 minutes.
To learn more about your company’s employee screening options and how Carolina Testing can customize an employee screening program to meet your individual needs, give us a call at 843-972-3287, send us a text message, or shoot us an email today.
Q: Do you really want a heroin addict or “meth head” driving that forklift or entering your customer’s home or office?
stating that even though medicinal or recreational use of marijuana is legal in some states, the company still recognizes federal laws that identifies marijuana as an illegal drug and does not condone or allow marijuana use by its employees. The policy further states that positive test results for marijuana will result in disciplinary action. State Supreme Courts have already upheld the employer’s right to discipline an employee for a positive drug test for THC – even in states where marijuana is legal medically or recreationally.
The second option some companies are choosing is to remove marijuana (THC) from their current drug test panels for pre-employment and random drug testing. They are, however, keeping marijuana (THC) in the drug test panels for post accident testing and reasonable suspicion testing – using oral saliva as the specimen instead of urine. Oral saliva testing in addition to instant alcohol tests for post accident or reasonable suspicion situations is quickly gaining in popularity. Testing, combined with supervisory observations, seek to provide evidence of impairment at the time of the incident or observation. Oral saliva testing is used because, unlike other specimen types, it can detect immediate recent use of drugs and can only detect up to approximately 72 hours.