Sobriety is essential in the workplace as it enhances employee productivity. However, the recent legalization of marijuana in some states in the United States has sparked multiple controversies over its impact in the workplace. Specifically, individuals feel that this drug poses a significant threat to the primary user and other workmates. As such, they maintain that its utilization in the corporate field should be eliminated, and employees should not tolerate any personnel who works under the influence of this drug. However, there is a specialized group of people who use marijuana for medical purposes. Precisely, this drug has been certified to control epilepsy breakouts, and it thus augments the employee performance in the work environment. Regardless of the opinion, one holds over the legalization of this substance; it is imperative to note that the legal implication caused by its utilization in the workplace are tremendous. As such, the human resource management teams need to implement proper measures to oversee the use of this drug in the work environment.
The federal laws provide the employers with absolute power to take action on people who use marijuana in the workplace. According to the National Law Review (n.p), an employer has the right to oversee the utilization of this drug within their organizations. As such, the management is at liberty to enact searches and seizures within their facilities to control the abuse of this drug. It is worth mentioning that this initiative poses a threat to one’s privacy. Precisely, employees’ who do not use this drug while in the workplace environment but are viable to search programs due to organizational policies would be uncomfortable due to the violation of their privacy. Moreover, random searches conducted without the employee’s knowledge affects them psychologically thus limiting their productivity. Consequently, the implications of the marijuana laws lead to the violation of one’s privacy due to the establishment of search policies.
The usage of marijuana in the workplace could yield the development of discrimination during the employment process based on the appearance of an individual. According to MSRC (n.p), the federal law allows the application of drug tests as a preliminary requirement to one’s employment. Consequently, employers might utilize this provision to conduct the marijuana tests on a discriminatory basis. However, this situation should be remedied by the administration of drug tests on all job applicants regardless of their physical status. Marijuana laws should give a provision for the concealment of the drug test results to small parties. As such, the violation of a job applicant’s privacy would not be a problem since confidentiality of the results is maintained by the test administrator and the job candidate. In case the individual being tested is unhappy with the test outcomes, the law should give a provision for appeal on the conduction of another assessment. This would enhance fairness in the workplace and prevent the violation of the due process.
The law provides a rule for the usage of marijuana for medical purposes. As such, employers are not at liberty to vindicate employees who use marijuana for the betterment of their health. In the Pines of Clarkston vs. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) case, a nursing administrator was fired for utilizing marijuana to treat her epileptic disease. This action followed her failure of a drug test that was conducted on her second day of work (The National Law Review n.p). Consequently, there is a need for the organization’s management to implement proper drug assessment measures before taking action on a marijuana user. The Human Resource Management team should be focused on the establishment of a conducive work environment for the employees and clients. Therefore, they should not use drug testing as an avenue to disapprove an employee’s effort within the workplace or settlement for other forms of failures. Basing this activity on the betterment of the business environments heightens the success levels of an organization and the employee’s self-esteem. The legal system should, therefore, implement non-discriminatory laws that oversee the welfare of the people that use marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Aside from the direct impacts imposed on the users, it is worth mentioning that the effects of the legalization of this drug stretch from the user to the workspace environment. According to Ruschman (168), the recreational usage of marijuana in the workplace affects other people’s productivity by up to 40 percent. This is mainly accredited to the fact that some individuals feel uncomfortable working in such conditions as it causes distractions. Consequently, the legal system needs to reevaluate its perception on the legalization of this substance to the corporate environment. Regardless of the medical implications posed by the usage of this drug, it is essential to note that people would most likely abuse the drug and use the medical defense to back up the activity. Therefore, one is justified to claim that the legal approaches taken by the United States government are bound to impact the workplace negatively if people are allowed to use it for constructive purposes. As such, it is imperative for the human resource management team to evaluate the search and drug control policies within their organization to avert the adverse effects imposed by the abuse of marijuana.
With the current litigations on the legalization of marijuana among several states in America, the overall impact on the work environment is bound to change. This is mainly accredited to the fact that the judicial system and the congress are developing appropriate measures to oversee the usage of this drug in the workplace context by averting threats of its abuse. In case individuals take advantage of their medical conditions to use marijuana for recreational purposes in an inappropriate way, the law would vindicate them (Drugs.com n.p). Drug usage evaluations aimed at establishing the abuse of marijuana may disadvantage minority groups as they are more likely to fail in the tests. However, their implementation in the work environment would heighten the possibilities of an organization’s success due to excellent levels of sobriety and the safety of the clients.
In conclusion, the current legislations on the marijuana pose significant threats to the stability of the work environment. Precisely, they heighten the chances of drug abuse in disguise for medicinal value and expose other employees to the effects of its consumption. As such, it is imperative that the human resource management team at any organization to enact administrative policies to avert the abuse of this drug. This initiative would secure not only the competency of the organization but also the safety of the employees and clients. The federal law is undergoing constant amendments in accordance with the current statistics on drug abuse. Over the years, the United States would embrace a better environment that poses minimal threats of the misuse of narcotics in the workplace. However, before this scenario is achieved, the management of organizations need to embrace appropriate drug control measures to deter discrimination and abuse of narcotics.
Works Cited
Drugs.com. "Marijuana: Effects, Medical Uses & Legalization - Drugs.Com". Drugs.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
Ruschmann, Paul. Legalizing Marijuana. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Print.
The National Law Review. "Marijuana In The Workplace: The Growing Conflict Between Drug And Employment Laws". The National Law Review. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
