Medical marijuana just became legal in Ohio.
But while Ohio’s medical marijuana law is in effect as of Sept. 8, don’t expect pot to be available for at least a year — and perhaps two years — as the state continues to sort out such things as regulations, commissions, who can grow, process and dispense it, who can authorize it, and how people can get it.
In any case, no one will be allowed to legally inhale: The state law says medical marijuana can’t be smoked.
Plus, marijuana remains illegal on a federal level, meaning Ohio doctors cannot legally prescribe it — instead, qualifying patients must get a “recommendation” from an Ohio doctor.
As Ohio works on implementing the new law, Akron-area public and private employers also are figuring out how best to deal with medical marijuana in the workplace.
Summit County government performs drug tests on job applicants and also tests employees if they are involved in vehicle accidents or other incidents in which there is suspicion the employee may have been under the influence, said Jason Dodson, chief of staff to the county executive. The county also conducts random drug testing of employees who have commercial driver licenses or who carry firearms, he said.
“As a governmental entity, we are not permitted to randomly test non-safety-sensitive employees,” he said. “We do include marijuana testing among the substances that are tested. We are currently in the process of evaluating our existing policy and process and how that may need to change, if at all, as a result of legal medical marijuana in Ohio. While medical marijuana will be legal this Thursday, until the dispensaries are established we do not anticipate this to be an issue.”Likewise, the city of Akron has had ongoing internal discussions on medical marijuana and city employees, said city spokeswoman Christine Curry. The city screens for marijuana usage in job applicants, she said. Anyone who tests positive will be ineligible to be hired by the city but can appeal to the Civil Service Commission, she said.
“Our current interpretation of the Ohio medical marijuana law does not necessitate changes to our existing policy at this time,” she said.
The Akron Beacon Journal is among private employers that conducts drug screenings as well, said Jay Hunter, head of the newspaper’s human resources department. “We only test for new employees and accidents,” he said.
The newspaper has discussed how to deal with medical marijuana and decided to see how others in the business community deal with the issue before deciding whether to make any policy changes, Hunter said.
“We’re taking a wait-and-see attitude,” he said.
Goodyear is committed to providing a safe and productive work environment that is free from the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs and misused prescription medication, spokesman Keith Price said.
“As a federal contractor, we are required to maintain a drug-free workplace and abide by federal laws and regulations, including the Controlled Substances Act, which classifies marijuana as an illegal drug,” he said. “The company conducts pre-employment as well as random drug testing with reasonable cause and as required by the Department of Transportation.”
“We have not changed any policies due to Ohio’s medical marijuana law,” he said.
FirstEnergy Corp. said it has no plans to change its drug-free workforce policies and that to safely generate and deliver electricity requires having focused, unimpaired employees.
“Similar laws have been passed in other states where FirstEnergy does business and no changes have been made to the company’s policies in those locations,” spokeswoman Stephanie Walton said.
“FirstEnergy will continue to conduct both pre-employment drug screenings and random screenings of its workforce to ensure employees are in compliance with federal regulations and the company’s drug and alcohol policy,” she said. “Short- and long-term disability programs are available to assist FirstEnergy employees who are experiencing serious medical issues.”
Akron-area hospitals, among the region’s largest employers, are also reviewing the law.
“We are evaluating our policies but do not anticipate making any changes,” said Amy Kilgore, spokeswoman for Cleveland Clinic Akron General. She noted that while medical marijuana will be legal in Ohio, it still may be prohibited in the workplace, similar to alcohol and tobacco use.
Summa Health has been carefully considering the complex issues surrounding the legalization of marijuana in Ohio since the subject was first introduced in the state legislature, spokesman Mike Bernstein said.
“Nothing within Ohio’s new law interferes with an employer’s right to prohibit the use, possession or distribution of marijuana in the workplace,” he said. “Summa Health remains, and plans to remain, a drug-free, zero-tolerance organization — a stance we have taken for the health and safety of our patients, their families and our employees.”
Sue Wetzel, a lawyer in the Columbus offices of Bricker & Eckler, said in a note to clients that the new Ohio law does not require employers to permit or accommodate an employee’s use, possession or distribution of medical marijuana.
Ohio employers can protect workers and the business by establishing a drug-free workplace policy, if they have not done so already, she said.
“If an employer already has a drug-free workplace policy in effect, now is the time to update it to make sure it covers medical marijuana as well,” Wetzel said.
“Employers must know and be mindful of their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and state law to not solicit confidential medical information without authorization,” she said. “However, as part of a policy against substance abuse, employers may require employees to report any use of prescriptions or other products that could impair an employee’s ability to safely perform their jobs.”
The employee is not required to identify the medication or the underlying condition, but should indicate that its use may have known side effects that could affect the work being performed, Wetzel said. “This is especially important when employees are performing safety-sensitive work, for the employee’s own safety and that of co-workers and others.”
Even with the state’s new medical marijuana law, employers may refuse to hire, discharge or take adverse employment action due to an individual’s personal use of marijuana, she said.
Management should provide all employees with updated drug-free workplace policies and require them to sign an acknowledgement statement that they received the policy, read and understood it, and also understand that they can be disciplined or terminated for using medical marijuana, Wetzel said.
Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him @JimMackinnonABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/JimMackinnonABJ