July 2019 - Medical Marijuana

Medical Marijuana: The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act (Unity Bill) takes effect on August 28, 2019. There a few things that employers should do to get ready:

• Job Descriptions – Know what they say and make sure they are up-to-date and contain a list of tasks and duties for the classification. Use the list of safety sensitive duties from the Unity Bill as your guide.

• Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy – Update to conform with the new Act. The Act says that employers can refuse to hire a medical marijuana license holder for a safety sensitive job, hence the importance of accurate and up-to-date job descriptions. Just remember that employees must be given at least 10 days advance notice before implementation.

  • Ensure drug testing vendor is abiding by the new requirements for what constitutes a positive marijuana test.

  • Train managers, supervisors and employees on your policy and how safety sensitive classifications are affected by the Unity Bill.