What will legal marijuana mean for safety sensitive jobs and drug testing?

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
However there are certain industries in Canada like the oilfield for instance that want to keep urine testing for THC after it becomes legal. But they will not be allowed to do this anymore because it will be against the Canadian charter of human rights (basically meaning it's none of their business according to the Canadian courts). These companies in industries like the oilfield are currently petitioning parliament to give them an exemption to allow them to maintain their complete ban on THC and allow them to discipline workers for a positive test (It's not going well for them currently).

When I started this thread I was asking if these companies would be allowed to continue urine testing for THC for employees and potential new hires and since then I have found out that they won't.

They can at most do a mouth swab or blood tests to prove impairment (like alcohol) but they will no longer be allowed to urine test for THC after July 01, 2018 because it will be a legal substance and considered discrimination according to Canadian law.
This is news to me and I'm not convinced it's correct. The new rules regarding re-legalization are yet in the fermenting stage and not even close to being laws and I seriously doubt that Trudeau the 2nd will pull it off by next Cannabis Day on July 1.

I'm not calling BS here but it's way too early to be counting your chickens as yet. If he prorogues the gov't all the work done in parliament to push forward re-legalization goes right back to square 1 and the process starts anew. There is still the details about international drug laws that Canada signed decades ago that have to be dealt with yet and that's like opting out of NATO if we just say FU and it's legal here now.

Trudeau is just another lying, rat-bastard LibTard like his old man who was PM when I was about 13. I've voted a straight NDP ticket since I was old enough to vote. I miss Jack Layton so much. He would have had this crap done years ago.

Good luck to us all!
 
It's madness how it got into the narcotic list without any solid base! A lot of scientists' studies have been held back by the criminalization of weed. Outrageous!
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
I wonder what the nanogram limit will be for oxys and other doctor prescribed narcotics. Funny we haven't heard anything about that.
 

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
I wonder what the nanogram limit will be for oxys and other doctor prescribed narcotics. Funny we haven't heard anything about that.

All kinds of measures are taken to control narcotics.

When I was in Florida they were dispensing in a package that only allowed the patient to ingest what was perscribed. It supposedly destroyed the meds if tampered with. I never saw it though. I don't take pain meds much. They make me sick.

And of course the prescription laws themselves are meant to regulate use.

But people will always find a black market for what they want anyway.
 

greg nr

Well-Known Member
All kinds of measures are taken to control narcotics.

When I was in Florida they were dispensing in a package that only allowed the patient to ingest what was perscribed. It supposedly destroyed the meds if tampered with. I never saw it though. I don't take pain meds much. They make me sick.

And of course the prescription laws themselves are meant to regulate use.

But people will always find a black market for what they want anyway.
Are you referring to mmj?

Florida was, and is, the opiate capitol of america. They had "pain" clinics that would legally prescribe 3000 oxy's per patient. There was no cross tracking so you could go to multiple pharmacies.

It was mule heaven.

They tightened it up, but it is apparently still possible to get crazy amounts of pain pills prescribed.
 

legalcanada

Well-Known Member
@OldMedUser they can't fire you if you have prescription marijuana i asked my clinic and they told me my employer would have to provide a safe work plan for me and can't fire (discriminate) against me, and i'm in a high risk/dangerous industry although not with urine tests.

you can always freeze clean urine, lasts a year or 2 in the freezer, just only thaw out the amount you need under hot water. some places check temperature, so its a good idea to warm it up once its in a separate container, maybe keep it on the dash of the car blasting heat or use a "hot hands" hand/glove warmer to wrap it with and keep it tight to your body... will keep it the right temp for sure, join the sub club
 

Farmer.J

Well-Known Member
@OldMedUser they can't fire you if you have prescription marijuana i asked my clinic and they told me my employer would have to provide a safe work plan for me and can't fire (discriminate) against me, and i'm in a high risk/dangerous industry although not with urine tests.
Hey can you please provide more info on this? I also have a prescription and I am a registered grower who also happens to work in the oilfield. I haven't told my boss about this, even though he knows I partake.
 

legalcanada

Well-Known Member
i imagine every province will have their own regulations but your best bet would be contact a marijuana clinic in edmonton or calgary and ask them... call national access cannabis in AB and ask about employee rights.. i'm not sure about companies that drug test
 
I think that with legalization will come acceptance. In the USA even the government agencies are having a hard time finding people who they can hire for their cyber-defense teams due to usage of cannabis. It is much more accepted and therefore much more common by younger people that eventually it will have to become a non-issue. I think that once companies cannot find qualified personnel to fill the positions that need to be filled things will start changing. Even the FBI is thinking of loosening its restrictions regarding cannabis use according to the BBC (Run a google search for FBI CIA Marijuana Computers. I can't post links as my post count is not high enough.)
 
I think that with legalization will come acceptance. In the USA even the government agencies are having a hard time finding people who they can hire for their cyber-defense teams due to usage of cannabis. It is much more accepted and therefore much more common by younger people that eventually it will have to become a non-issue. I think that once companies cannot find qualified personnel to fill the positions that need to be filled things will start changing. Even the FBI is thinking of loosening its restrictions regarding cannabis use according to the BBC (Run a google search for FBI CIA Marijuana Computers. I can't post links as my post count is not high enough.)
I've seen a few articles discussing this.
 

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
Can companies say you are never allowed to use marijuana (in Canada) once it becomes legal?
No. They are going to try, but they won't be successful. There is no need to test for a legal substance. They don't test for traces of alcohol or pharma drugs, why do they think they have a right dictate what happens in your home?
 

New Age United

Well-Known Member
No. They are going to try, but they won't be successful. There is no need to test for a legal substance. They don't test for traces of alcohol or pharma drugs, why do they think they have a right dictate what happens in your home?
Actually some companies do test for alcohol, to make sure you can abstain.
 

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
Actually some companies do test for alcohol, to make sure you can abstain.
To my knowledge there is no occupation in Canada where the employer can forbid you from consuming alcohol on your own time. At least I can't think of one. They can test if they suspect you are drunk, but if you are under .05, you're sober.
As for abstaining...I'm nearly 10 years sober, so no worries there.
 

New Age United

Well-Known Member
To my knowledge there is no occupation in Canada where the employer can forbid you from consuming alcohol on your own time. At least I can't think of one. They can test if they suspect you are drunk, but if you are under .05, you're sober.
As for abstaining...I'm nearly 10 years sober, so no worries there.
My buddy worked in fort Mac and was tested for alcohol they told him if he can' go 4 days without drinking he can' work there.
 

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
My buddy worked in fort Mac and was tested for alcohol they told him if he can' go 4 days without drinking he can' work there.
Against the law - he should be talking to his union. My son works up there and drinks like a fish. He doesn't show up for work drunk or hungover, so no issues. They have got him for THC tho...lol
 

Z3r0Z3r0

Well-Known Member
Didnt cali remove THC from list of prohibited substances? Colorado I heard might too, saw a news report of some guy in wheelchair already hired got random test and fired for THC, I think he won a settlement in court against employer since it was medical
 

greg nr

Well-Known Member
Still testing for any job related to the federal gov, also most employers test for cannabis by default for both pre-employment and random testing.

State laws won't affect that. In MA for example, the rec law specifically allows employers to continue to test for Cannabis.
 

TacoMac

Well-Known Member
It's this simple:

Drinking is legal, right? Do they allow you to drink on the job?

No. They don't.

Why? Because it impairs peoples judgment, decision making and reflexes and can lead to accidents.

Marijuana is no different. You can come up with any lame excuses you want about how it doesn't effect your skills, but fact of the matter is that it does. It will be handled the same exact way that alcohol is for the foreseeable future.

The reason for that? Primarily, it's insurance.

No company will EVER be able to insure itself against accidents if it allows people using impairing substances to do safety sensitive jobs.

It's not rocket science, folks. It's simple common sense. (Which of course a very large majority of pot smokers lost along the way somewhere.)
 
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