Attention Attorneys: Law Firms and Medical Marijuana?
I am curious about hiring policy in law firms regarding the medical use of marijuana.
1. Is there drug testing prior to hiring and/or during employment?
2. Does the policy differ between different firms?
3. If I was (hypothetically speaking, of course) using marijuana for medicinal purposes, can a law firm find evidence of this on some registry or database?
Per the subject line, this question is aimed at attorneys. If you are not an attorney, can you give me a credential for your knowledge?
Thanks in advance.
Law firms are private businesses. Each firm sets its own policies.
I’m sure that there are law firms – sole practitioners or small partnerships mostly – that do not carry out pre-employment or random drug testing, but probably very few of them.
After all, as is often pointed out, with around 90% of employers conducting drug testing, guess WHO is applying for jobs in the companies that don’t?
If you are using marijuana for medical purposes, your best bet is going to be to disclose that fact to the interviewer up front, explain why, and hope that the firm is willing to hire you based on your explanation.
Richard
1) Drug testing prior to and during employment is up to the individual employer.
2) Again, see above answer. Some employers may test at the time of the job offer while, some may randomly test during employment while others may not test at all. Again, it depends on the employer as each employer will differ.
3) No, unless you provide them with a release to gain access to medical history etc. If you are a medical user, you should have your card (depending on the state) to provide evidence that you have been authorized to obtain cannabis for medical purposes.
Last year a bill was pushed through to allow users of medical cannabis to be protected from employment termination in California. The governor vetoed the bill, but recommended that more research should be done to provide further information regarding medical cannabis. Shortly after, the governor began to speak about ending prohibition.
In other words, regardless of being a legal medicinal holder you are not protected. The individual employer reserves the right to be the deciding factor. One could assume that most employers would steer clear of this issue do to potential liabilities.
If you want to work for a law firm, I would suggest working for a firm that practices in marijuana laws. You can find lists of law firms who specialize in cannabis laws and defense in hightimes.
You might want to also check out norml.org for further info as I doubt that you will find an answer from an attorney regarding this issue on a public message board.
Good luck