I was asked this question and I provided the same answer that I have for a number of other companies. We are now being contacted by many companies evaluating the need to include marijuana in the testing panel. This is due to them having a hard time getting employees to pass a drug screen.
I TELL THEM IT DEPENDS
My job is to provide all the necessary information; the pros and the cons around substance use and impairment, without condemnation. It is your business and I have no right to tell you how you should run it.
SO I HAVE BEEN TAKING THEM THROUGH THE PROCESS OF ANSWERING THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:
HOW MUCH RISK IS THE COMPANY WILLING TO TAKE?
I advise them that they need to look at the risks in two main areas.
Safety Sensitive
The first has to do with their tolerance for the risk of getting taken to court for civil damages. In the instance of the company above, if the marijuana delivery driver causes an accident, what are the chances that some injured party would sue the driver’s company? In California, where there is no tort reform, it is highly likely. So it depends on what level of risk you, as a company, wish to take in being held liable for damages?
Client Facing
The second has to do with risking image, customer dissatisfaction or disaffection due to your customer interfacing with someone who may smell of pot. Let me give you my example. My wife and I stayed at a hotel in Lake Tahoe and smoke was coming through our ventilation system because the “neighbors” next door were smoking pot in the room and blowing it into the intake vents. Management could never make contact with them and this continued for two days until we checked out. It turns out the two other guests in line at the time of checkout, staying in other parts of the hotel had the same experience with their neighbors. Despite receiving compensation, do you think we are going back to that hotel?
SO WHAT DID THE OWNER ABOVE DECIDE TO DO?
He definitely knows he wants to drug test, but is deliberating on the level of risk he is willing to take in potential lawsuits. His dilemma is elaborated upon in an interesting article below.
USA Today
But whenever, and whatever he wants to test for, we are ready to accommodate.
What you can do and what you should do is expanding the frontiers of risk and reward. out here in the Wild West that is called California!