For instance, can employees use cannabis in the workplace if they were referred to the program by a doctor? Can employers still require drug tests and are they even useful anymore? What if employees are drug-impaired but have a doctor’s authorization to use cannabis?
“The advice that I've been giving employers is ‘just stay calm,’” said Laura Link, a cannabis attorney at Archer Law. She was speaking to businesspeople at the New Jersey Business & Industry Association’s panel event “The Cannabis Economy: Are You Ready?” in East Windsor Wednesday morning.
“There’s no reason for us to believe that because the medical program is expanding and because we’re considering legalization of adult use on the state level, that all of a sudden people who came to work sober every day are going to start coming to work impaired.”
Link’s advice notwithstanding, the New Jersey statute covering medical marijuana and proposed for legalized recreational use does not answer such questions. There are substantial gray areas in the law that will need to be clarified either in the State House, where the legislation is currently being debated, or in state court as issues arise. It could mean years of court battles ahead.