Pot in the workplace: Oregon is No. 1 for positive drug tests

By Lizzy Acker

We’re number one! In people failing drugs test for weed!

According to a report from the Drug Testing Index, Oregon has a higher percentage of workplace drug tests that are positive for marijuana than any other state in the country.

Feeling proud? You’re about to feel prouder because this is the third year in a row that Oregon has achieved this honor.

According to the index, culled from more than 10 million drug tests administered at workplaces throughout the country, a whopping 4.64 percent of Oregon’s workplace drug tests in 2017 were positive for pot. That’s up from 2016’s 4.5 percent and 2015’s 3.43 percent.

That means the trend is going up.

So. Hmm. What happened in 2015? Oh! It was July 15 when recreational cannabis went on sale for everyone over the age of 21!

Still, other states with legal recreational cannabis land further down on the list. Massachusetts came in at number three with 3.56 percent of tests coming back as positive, Washington was sixth with 3.18 percent  and Nevada and Colorado were eight and 10, both with just under 3 percent.

Oregon’s enthusiastic cannabis consumption might be turning into an issue for the state’s employers.

“One labor issue that continues to crop up is drug testing,” state economists told Willamette Week earlier this year. “At least anecdotally, more firms are reporting trouble finding workers who can pass a drug test.”

Some companies are opting to drop the THC part of a drug testing altogether, according to a report from The Denver Post.

But, don’t forget, in Oregon, even though weed is legal, employers can still test employees for it and fire them, or decline to hire them, if they test positive. A bill to ban employers from firing employees for off-duty cannabis use died in the  Oregon Senate in 2017.

Maybe someday this will change, but for now, don’t be surprised if a prospective employer asks you to pee in a cup and then isn’t cool with your before-bed edible habit.

Read more from the source: The Oregonian

Photo: Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian