Colorado cannabis company to test employees for drug use

neversickanymore

neversickanymore

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Colorado cannabis company to test employees for drug use
Apr 18, 2014
Caitlin Hendee

If you had any notion that the idea of drug testing by a company that sells marijuana products is a little far-fetched, think again.

OpenVape, Colorado's largest cannabis company with growth of 800 to 1,600 percent over the last few years, announced that it will begin testing employees for drugs other than marijuana. OpenVape sells cannabis oil as well as vaporizers and other marijuana-related products.

Thursday's announcement comes shortly after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said he would work with lawmakers to remove marijuana from the list of federally illegal "scheduled substances."

“We at OpenVape believe that listing cannabis as a Schedule 1 dangerous drug hinders progress because it vilifies many consumers who are a vital part of the workforce and active contributors to society,” said Todd Mitchem, chief revenue officer for OpenVape.

Mitchem said drug screening employees is part of OpenVape's goal to place a marked division between cannabis and any other drugs.
The company says it "we won't tolerate dangerous drug use by our employees."

However, “unlike dangerous drugs, cannabis can be part of a healthy lifestyle that promotes wellness," said Mitchem. “Dangerous drugs have no place in the workplace, and we maintain the right to drug test any of our employees," he added.

The testing will not extend to cannabis use, although the company's 125 employees are not allowed to smoke weed before or during work hours.

"But we accept a person’s right to choose cannabis for recreation or medicinal benefit," Mitchem said.

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/n...o-cannabis-company-to-test-employees-for.html
 
This is such bullshit.

30 years ago, Ronald Reagan's drug czar - Carlton Turner - claimed that marijuana use leads to homosexuality, and therefore to AIDS. But alcoholic beverages are safe because people clearly drink booze for its health benefits, and for its delicious taste - burned throat feeling and all.

Now, weed use is part of a healthy, heterosexual lifestyle, but oh my God, any other Schedule I (and some II) drugs are not.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that there's a possibility that Cannabis sativa will be removed from the Controlled Substances Act.

Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys it. Not everyone can handle its effects. And not everyone who can't handle weed is able to handle booze either.

Until we're free to grow and harvest any plants we desire (e.g. Papaver somniferum, Erythroxylum coca), I know I will not rest. And so will many others who prefer smoking opium over weed, or chewing on coca leaves instead of tobacco.
 
I can see their side though. Theres a valid cause for concern when people are actually abusing drugs and not just puffin on some reefer..
 
theWhiteLarryBird said:
I can see their side though. Theres a valid cause for concern when people are actually abusing drugs and not just puffin on some reefer..
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They should test for impairment of all drugs in workplaces, alcohol, weed, opiates, and stimulants. Being hungover or coming down is not in the best interests of any business, unless being high is part of your job description. However who gives two shits if they are high in their own time?

Testing should be for current drug impairment, not drug use.
 
Impairment testing is very easy to implement. All this drug testing is just another way to oppress drug users. It's pretty useless when it comes to actually keeping people from showing up to work in an impaired state.
 
neversickanymore said:
However, “unlike dangerous drugs, cannabis can be part of a healthy lifestyle that promotes wellness," said Mitchem. “Dangerous drugs have no place in the workplace, and we maintain the right to drug test any of our employees," he added.
Click to expand...

This is the part that really grinds my gears. I don't see how it's not analogous to modern-day slavery for an employer to believe they have the right to coerce employees like this, and for the government to even OK that right.
 
In reality this really isn't much different than a pharmacy, brewery, or any other job for that matter that drug tests; the only difference is that they let weed slide. Don't get me wrong I'm against work place drug testing for any substance, with exceptions of some jobs like if you are a pilot for a commercial airline.

Just like like with alcohol you have marijuana users who ignorantly assume weed is not a drug and have a strong bias to other drugs and the people use of other drugs. It will always be like that; at least until we undo decades and decades of propaganda that has been drilled so deeply into society's mind.
 
man some of these potheads are even more annoying than all those drinkers that want other drug users to go to prison.

fuckin drug snobs. go live on a commune in the woods or something.
 
S.J.B. said:
Impairment testing is very easy to implement. All this drug testing is just another way to oppress drug users. It's pretty useless when it comes to actually keeping people from showing up to work in an impaired state.
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Problems with that too.

"The equipment then analyzes a person's response in comparison to his or her normal baseline response"

So if my co worker has a slow response at baseline and I am 10X faster, then I come in hung over and am i am only 5 times faster than her, I still get fired? Why is there not a minimum standard for everyone? And want to bet that I do better on this test on cocaine or meth? They give meth to pilots, it doesn't effect your reaction time unless it improves it. So two of the most popular drugs won't be detected at all, seems unfair to me.
There is still no way to prove drug impairment, only past use. In fact if i got charged with driving under influence of drugs I would fight it to the bitter end.
 
my3rdeye said:
So two of the most popular drugs won't be detected at all, seems unfair to me.
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That's the point though, they should be looking only for impairment, not simple drug use. After all, almost everyone is on a drug during their workday - caffeine - which isn't actually that different from cocaine or methamphetamine.
 
Guys we just need to vote with our wallets. When weed becomes legal in my state I will buy from companies that treat their employees like human beings with rights to privacy and the ability to make free choices. I will never by anything from this company, even if they "see the error in their ways" at some later point. Kind of like buying free trade coffee (which I don't buy). I want to buy my pot and pot products from good people with their heads on there shoulders...not up their asses.
 
This is another way to set up the "us and them" mentality. It falls in line with the Stanley Brothers saying "we're not a bunch of dumb potheads" and stuff like that. Don't get me wrong, legalization is very important but I don't always trust the motives behind the suits calling the shots. This is one of those instances where it seems like they're saying like, oh look at how pro we are-better than everyone else-but not in a quality way, more of a snobbish way.
 
I personally know a very educated, very productive member of society who - obviously in secret - eats magic mushrooms because she began suffering from horrible, debilitating migraines after she was involved in a severe car crash.

At first, she tried all the usual Rx meds for migraines, as well as some potent opioids, and also herbal supplements. Unfortunately, nothing helped - that is, until she began trying magic mushrooms after watching a documentary about the war on drugs.

This poor woman, who, every day, goes out of her way to not break any laws, depends on an illicit substance to function. Thankfully, her employer doesn't require that she provide a sample of her urine for "street" drug testing.

I'd be furious to witness this girl be harassed, persecuted, and terminated from her employment because she uses a schedule I substance in order to function. But articles like this one reminds me that there are others out there who are being treated in a two-faced manner because of something which (with the possible exception of certain jobs such as a commercial airline pilot) really should be none of the employer's business.
 
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