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department of labor

Medical Marijuana

by Aaron Atkinson on November 12, 2009

The following article was published by the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Drug & Alcohol Policy & Compliance (ODAPC).

“Recently, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued guidelines for Federal prosecutors in states that have enacted laws authorizing the use of “medical marijuana.” Click here to view the guidelines.

“We have had several inquiries about whether the DOJ advice to Federal prosecutors regarding pursuing criminal cases will have an impact upon the Department of Transportation’s long standing regulation about the use of marijuana by safety-sensitive transportation employees – pilots, school bus drivers, truck drivers, train engineers, subway operators, aircraft maintenance personnel, transit fire-armed security personnel, ship captains, and pipeline emergency response personnel, among others.

“We want to make it perfectly clear that the DOJ guidelines will have no bearing on the Department of Transportation’s regulated drug testing program.  We will not change our regulated drug testing program based upon these guidelines to Federal prosecutors.

“The Department of Transportation’s Drug and Alcohol Testing Regulation – 49 CFR Part 40, at 40.151(e) – does not authorize “medical marijuana” under a state law to be a valid medical explanation for a transportation employee’s positive drug test result.

“That section states:

§ 40.151 What are MROs prohibited from doing as part of the verification process?
As an MRO, you are prohibited from doing the following as part of the verification process:
(e) You must not verify a test negative based on information that a physician recommended that the employee use a drug listed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. (e.g., under a state law that purports to authorize such recommendations, such as the “medical marijuana” laws that some states have adopted.)

“Therefore, Medical Review Officers will not verify a drug test as negative based upon information that a physician recommended that the employee used “medical marijuana.”  Please note that marijuana remains a drug listed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.  It remains unacceptable for any safety-sensitive employee subject to drug testing under the Department of Transportation’s drug testing regulations to use marijuana.

“We want to assure the traveling public that our transportation system is the safest it can possibly be.”

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Quest Diagnostics Observes Drug Free Work Week

by Aaron Atkinson on October 22, 2009

Each October, the United States Department of Labor observes Drug-Free Work Week. The purpose of Drug-Free Work Week is to educate employers, employees and the general public about the importance of being drug-free as an essential component of a safe and healthful workplace. Now in its third year, the annual campaign is a collaborative effort between the Labor Department, members of its Drug-Free Workplace Alliance and other public and private-sector organizations devoted to safe and healthy workplaces. However, all employers and employees are encouraged to participate.

The themes of Drug-Free Work Week have widespread relevance, according to a survey conducted by the Hazelden Foundation, a national nonprofit organization that helps people reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction. The Hazelden research found that while most human resources practitioners recognize substance abuse and addiction as among the most serious problems faced in today’s workplace, few companies proactively address these issues with their employees.

“Drug-Free Work Week is a perfect time to remind employers and employees alike that reducing workplace alcohol and drug abuse is a crucial part of keeping workers safe,” said Elena Carr, drug policy coordinator at the Labor Department. “Of course, in a safe and healthful workplace, every week should be Drug-Free Work Week.”

Employers and employees in all industries can learn more about how to participate in Drug-Free Work Week and ways they can promote drug-free workplace messages – during the campaign and throughout the year – by visiting the Labor Department’s Working Partners for an Alcohol- and Drug-Free Workplace Web site at www.dol.gov/workingpartners.

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