Treat Marijuana like Alcohol? New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission issues guidance for Workplaces

The news comes as a first step toward formulating and approving standards for Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert certifications.

 

It’s meant to support employers’ right to create and maintain safe work environments and to affirm employees’ right to due process.

 

The guidance iterates that employees cannot be acted against solely due to the presence of cannabis in their body, among other things, but employers have the right to drug test on reasonable suspicion of impairment.

 

“Striking a balance between workplace safety and work performance and adult employees’ right to privacy and to consume cannabis during their off hours is possible,” says Jeff Brown, NJ-CRC's executive director. “We have been doing that with alcohol without thought.”

 

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission establishes and enforces the rules and regulations governing the licensing, testing, cultivation, purchasing and selling of cannabis in the state.