Impacts of Marijuana Legalization

As we are coming off this election high (or low depending upon your point of view), there is another type of “high” we must address, the legalization of marijuana in California under proposition 64. More specifically, what are the immediate impacts on employment rules? The short answer is there may be no impact at all.

Marijuana has been legal in California for medical use for several years and there were not many hurdles required to obtain a prescription. Yet, employers have always been able to maintain a zero tolerance drug-free policy because marijuana is, and still remains, illegal under federal law for both personal and medical consumption.

At this point, a business’ decision to change its policy regarding recreational use of marijuana will be purely optional and is not required by the recent passage of proposition 64.