Arkansas employers are in the weeds with medical marijuana
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If the recreational marijuana ballot is passed, how it will impact Arkansas' employers and employees is as hazy as the rafters at an Eagles concert.
State of play: The state's current law prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee or applicant if they're a medical marijuana patient or caregiver.
Yes, but: An employer can have drug-testing policies and discipline an employee for possession, use or being under the influence at work or during work hours.
- Employers can choose to keep an employee from working in a safety-sensitive position — like forklift driver or school bus driver — if there's a good faith belief they're a user of medical marijuana.
Between the lines: The use of marijuana is still illegal on a federal level, so contractors and businesses working with the federal government may require drug testing of employees.
The big picture: There's no agreed metric to determine marijuana intoxication, so testing will reveal only that someone has used the drug, but may not reveal if they're currently impaired.
Yes, and: While many employers drug screen applicants, Quest Diagnostics reports that employer tests for marijuana were down 5% in 2020 from 2015, which could be a trend of broader acceptance.
What they're saying: "There's a lot of uncertainty of how Issue 4, if it's passed, will impact employers in Arkansas," Nate Read with Mitchell Williams law firm in Rogers tells Axios.
The bottom line: If the law is passed, the Arkansas General Assembly may look to set guidelines for recreational marijuana in January.
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