What does drug testing look like in 2023?
Marijuana use is just as common as cigarette smoking, if not more common. Although the exact numbers are unknown, a recent poll indicated that 16% of Americans say they smoke marijuana, compared with just 11% saying they smoke cigarettes (WebMD).
A large proportion of Americans want to see weed legalized, despite never having tried it themselves. Gallup’s latest survey on support for the full legalization of marijuana found that at least 68% of the population is in favor of it (Sheperd Express).
In addition, there are a lot of Americans who have tried it, but do not use it regularly. Some estimates put this at close to 50% of American adults.
Learn more on which groups of Americans have tried marijuana at YouGov.
With the popularity and opinion changing, many states have changed the laws on usage. However, federal law remains the same. With consideration for marijuana, many drug testing standards have been modified or changed.
Here is some updated information as of May 2023.
As of May, three states have made drug testing for marijuana legal, but Alaska is not on this list. Alaska currently doesn’t have any bills that will change this.
There are drug testing options available without THC present. Some employers are opting to use this depending on the nature of the work; however, most continue to leave it in for the industries where testing is most prominent. Post-hire testing following incidents or testing of those in safety-sensitive positions typically continues.
Many have been following the legalization of oral fluid testing for drug testing, which was set to be approved on June 1st of this year. However, this has been stalled because there was an expectation that at least two labs must be approved. At this time, there are no laboratories certified to conduct drug and specimen validity tests on oral fluid specimens (Fleetowner).
Oral fluid testing, also known as saliva drug testing or mouth swab testing, is a method of drug testing that involves collecting a sample of an individual’s saliva to detect the presence of drugs or their metabolites.
What type of drug test is effective for my worksite?
Typically, THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana, is detectable for up to 90 days in hair, anywhere between 1 day to a month or longer in urine (depending on how often the individual uses it), up to 24 hours in saliva, and up to 12 hours in blood.
Whether you have a drug free workplace or want to test against alcohol and drug use MedPhysicals Plus can help you navigate the best policy for your team. Visit https://medphysicalsplus.com/employee-drug-testing/ to learn more.
Check out our other blog posts on drug testing here:
- https://medphysicalsplus.com/2023/05/09/drug-free-workplace-in-2023-what-does-this-mean/
- https://medphysicalsplus.com/2023/04/20/4-20-what-does-drug-free-workplace-mean-in-the-age-of-cannabis-or-weed/
- https://medphysicalsplus.com/2023/03/28/why-should-employers-require-pre-employment-drug-screening-testing/
Sources:
- https://www.fleetowner.com/operations/article/21267122/truck-driver-oralfluid-drug-testing-put-on-hold
- https://today.yougov.com/topics/society/articles-reports/2022/04/07/half-of-americans-have-tried-marijuana
- https://shepherdexpress.com/cannabis/cannabis/marijuana-use-is-now-as-common-as-smoking-cigarettes/
- https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20220831/more-americans-smoke-pot-than-cigarettes-poll-finds