Amazon Eliminates Marijuana Screening for New Hires

Jeffrey Miron and Pedro Braga SoaresAmazon recentlyannounced that it will no longer include marijuana in the company ’s drug screening program for new hires (other than for positionsregulated by the Department of Transportation). Amazon says marijuana will instead be treated like alcohol, which means “impairment checks” on the job site and testing for all drugs and alcohol after job incidents.Drug screening and testing arewidespread in the US, covering nearlyhalf of all workplaces. But Amazon ’s announcement, and the recent spate ofmarijuana medicalizations and legalizations, have prompted discussion of who should decide whether such programs makesense.The federal government started thepush for employee drug testing when it collected urine samples from Vietnam War veterans (to screen for abusers and assist rehabilitation). Following a series of incidents, the U.S. Navy announced a policy of “zero tolerance” for illicit drugs in 1980. By 1985, major corporations had adopted drug screening and testing programs. The next year, the Reagan administration instituted urine testing in federal agencies. In 1988, the Drug‐​Free Workplace Actrequired federal contractors to establish and maintain drug ‐​free policies. Safety and security‐​sensitive occupations are also subject to specific drug‐​testinglegislation.Evidencesuggests drug testing indeed deters drug use in the workplace. Interestingly, a 2014paper also finds that drug screening benef...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs