Healthcare
Which Jobs Do the Most Drug Testing for Weed?
If you like to smoke weed you will want to avoid these industries!
According to a recent federal labor study, states have gradually ended marijuana prohibition, which has resulted in a significant decline in workplace drug testing rates over the past 25 years. The data also shows which industries are testing employees for drugs the least and the most.
BUREAU OF STATISTICS SURVEY
The related report was released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) earlier this year. It was discovered that in a small number of organizations, drug and alcohol testing for employees had been suspended or put off during the COVID-19 outbreak. The report is a component of a project that evaluates how businesses are handling the pandemic. Since 1996, the workforce fact-finding organization doesn’t appear to have questioned businesses about drug testing.
Since then, more than a third of U.S. states have approved cannabis for adult use, and roughly three-quarters of all states have authorized cannabis for medical use. According to the survey, states that have chosen to legalize have a lower prevalence of drug testing overall
Workers in safety-sensitive fields like warehousing and transportation were more likely to be tested than those in other areas like educational services, arts, and food services, as might be predicted. A 1996 survey of all workplaces found that approximately 30% tested for drugs and approximately 14% screened for alcohol. According to the latest study, 16.1% of respondents test for alcohol and drugs.
Over 80,000 workplaces nationwide responded to the survey in a meaningful manner (i.e., with replies to at least 5 of the 25 questions), and it was distributed to approximately 317,000 establishments nationwide. Employers were asked to respond to questions online and with no interviewer present, in contrast to the majority of past BLS surveys.
SURVEY QUESTIONS
In two of the survey questions, testing for drugs and alcohol was discussed. One inquired about drug testing for prospective hires or present personnel, and the other focused on whether testing had been scaled back or postponed since the pandemic’s start.
In a statement, BLS research economist, Michael Dalton who worked on the survey, said that he was motivated to push for the inclusion of the drug-screening questions for employers after reading media reports that some businesses had stopped testing workers and job applicants to make it simpler to fill open positions.
Dalton stated that the deduction from what he read is that, there were only a few anecdotal stories. He added that they didn’t have new data about drug testing, which was part of where it met a brick wall.
Even while the BLS research showed evidence of a decline in screens generally, this decline was minimal as only 2% of employers reported eliminating or delaying testing, while 7.9% reported doing both eliminating or delaying testing while also testing new applications or existing employees.
The results, which were broken down by state, business sector, and facility size, did nonetheless shed light on tactics used by private employers across the nation.
SUMMARY OF THE SURVEY
The study defines establishments as distinct physical places rather than as commercial organizations, so for the survey’s purposes, a company with an office in two different states would represent two unique establishments, each of which would be required to submit a questionnaire.
Dalton expressed his anticipation that upcoming reports will enable analysis by overall firm size. The researcher added that they also have estimates that are not yet publicly available when we look at the average wage earned within the establishment.
One of the stronger correlations the poll discovered was that businesses in states where cannabis is legal seemed to be less inclined to screen employees. The majority of states, eight out of ten, have passed legislation legalizing cannabis for adult use. However, none of the ten states with the highest testing rates have legalized cannabis.
Of course, it is difficult to infer any causality from the data at hand. It’s possible that legalization led to a decrease in the number of employers who decided to conduct background checks, but it’s also probable that underlying personal perceptions of employers towards individual freedom, privacy, or drug use while not on the clock, for example, helped to spur legalizing marijuana and comparatively low testing rates.
RESULTS OF SURVEY
As a result of the persistent federal ban of cannabis, significant disparities were also observed amongst industry sectors. Testing rates were significantly higher than average in the utility sector and the warehousing and transportation sectors. The only industry in which more than half of enterprises claimed to conduct drug screenings was transportation and warehousing, which also includes the federally regulated trucking sector and other businesses.
The industries with the lowest testing rates were financial activities, information, arts, entertainment, and recreation, as well as lodging and food services.
During the pandemic, more employers in the utility industry cut back on drug testing compared to any other industry, but that doesn’t mean they stopped completely. The industry also had the largest percentage of businesses that reduced or postponed testing while still testing potential new hires or present personnel.
Smaller facilities were much less likely to need screenings than larger ones. In businesses with less than 20 employees, 12.9% of employees or workers were tested. 34.7% of businesses with between 20 and 100 employees did. At locations with between 100 and 500 people, the percentages kept rising (56.7%), as well as at locations with more than 500 people (69.9%).
Drug testing decreased during the epidemic, but Dalton claimed it was too soon to say if the decline would last after it. While many of the workplace changes brought on by COVID may eventually disappear, he noted that other changes are unlikely to be completely undone. For instance, when BLS inquired about remote work during the pandemic, approximately 20% of all companies reported they increased telework and expect such increases to persist later.
BOTTOM LINE
It was found that industries that are not safety-sensitive recorded the lowest rate of testing for cannabis. In contrast, industries that are safety-sensitive carried out more tests on their employees, especially the warehousing and transportation industry which recorded the highest percentage of testing workers.
Source: https://cannabis.net/blog/b2b/which-jobs-do-the-most-drug-testing-for-weed
Education News
AIIMS Gorakhpur Reservation Controversy: FIR Alleges Fake OBC Certificate Used Despite ₹80 Lakh Income
A major controversy has emerged at AIIMS Gorakhpur after allegations surfaced that reservation benefits were misused to secure a postgraduate medical seat. A criminal case has been registered against former AIIMS Gorakhpur Executive Director Dr. G.K. Pal and his son, Dr. Oro Prakash Pal, over the alleged use of a forged Other Backward Class (OBC) Non-Creamy Layer certificate for admission to an MD course.
The case has triggered widespread debate within medical and administrative circles, raising serious questions about transparency and oversight in admissions to premier medical institutions.
FIR Filed on Court’s Direction
The First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the AIIMS police station following directions from Chief Judicial Magistrate Tvishi Srivastava. According to the complaint, the alleged offence took place on August 30, 2024, when forged documents were purportedly used to obtain an MD seat under the OBC reservation quota.
Sources indicate that the matter was subsequently brought to the attention of the Union Ministry of Health, prompting internal reviews and administrative action.
Alleged Income Far Above Eligibility Threshold
Central to the allegations is the claim that Dr. G.K. Pal and his wife Parvati Pal have a combined annual income exceeding ₹80 lakh. Under existing reservation rules, families with such income levels are not eligible for OBC Non-Creamy Layer benefits.
Following the emergence of the controversy, Dr. Pal was first removed from his position at AIIMS Gorakhpur and later relieved of responsibilities at AIIMS Patna. He is currently posted at JIPMER Puducherry. With the registration of the FIR, officials suggest that further legal and departmental action may follow, depending on the outcome of the investigation.
Complaint Highlights Systemic Concerns
The complaint was filed by Ashutosh Kumar Mishra, a resident of Divyanagar in the Cantonment area. He alleged that the events related to the case occurred between January and September 2024. The complainant argued that misuse of reservation provisions by individuals in senior positions undermines the integrity of public institutions and erodes trust in the medical education system.
The case has reignited concerns over whether verification mechanisms for reservation certificates are robust enough, particularly in high-stakes admissions.
Impact on Medical Community
The allegations have sent shockwaves through the medical fraternity. Experts believe that if the claims are substantiated, the case could prompt a broader review of admission procedures and lead to stricter scrutiny of category certificates across institutions like AIIMS.
Authorities have stated that all relevant documents will be carefully examined before taking further steps. The outcome of the investigation is expected to have far-reaching implications for accountability and compliance in medical admissions.
Questions Await Answers
As the probe continues, several key issues remain unresolved: whether reservation norms were deliberately violated, how verification processes failed, and whether similar cases may surface in the future. For now, the focus remains on the investigation and its potential consequences.
New Mexico regulators fined a cannabis operator nearly $300,000 and revoked its license after the company allegedly created fake reports in the state’s traceability software.
The New Mexico Cannabis Control Division (CCD) accused marijuana manufacturer and retailer Golden Roots of 11 violations, according to Albuquerque Business First.
Golden Roots operates the The Cannabis Revolution Dispensary.
The majority of the violations are related to the Albuquerque company’s improper use of BioTrack, which has been New Mexico’s track-and-trace vendor since 2015.
The CCD alleges Golden Roots reported marijuana production only two months after it had received its vertically integrated license, according to Albuquerque Business First.
Because cannabis takes longer than two months to be cultivated, the CCD was suspicious of the report.
After inspecting the company’s premises, the CCD alleged Golden Roots reported cultivation, transportation and sales in BioTrack but wasn’t able to provide officers who inspected the site evidence that the operator was cultivating cannabis.
In April, the CCD revoked Golden Roots’ license and issued a $10,000 fine, according to the news outlet.
The company requested a hearing, which the regulator scheduled for Sept. 1.
At the hearing, the CCD testified that the company’s dried-cannabis weights in BioTrack were suspicious because they didn’t seem to accurately reflect how much weight marijuana loses as it dries.
Company employees also poorly accounted for why they were making adjustments in the system of up to 24 pounds of cannabis, making comments such as “bad” or “mistake” in the software, Albuquerque Business First reported.
Golden Roots was fined $298,972.05 – the amount regulators allege the company made selling products that weren’t properly accounted for in BioTrack.
The CCD has been cracking down on cannabis operators accused of selling products procured from out-of-state or not grown legally:
- Regulators alleged in August that Albuquerque dispensary Sawmill Sweet Leaf sold out-of-state products and didn’t have a license for extraction.
- Paradise Exotics Distro lost its license in July after regulators alleged the company sold products made in California.
Golden Roots was the first alleged rulebreaker in New Mexico to be asked to pay a large fine.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/new-mexico-cannabis-operator-fined-loses-license-for-alleged-biotrack-fraud/
Alabama regulators are targeting Dec. 1 to award the first batch of medical cannabis business licenses after the agency’s first two attempts were scrapped because of scoring errors and litigation.
The first licenses will be awarded to individual cultivators, delivery providers, processors, dispensaries and state testing labs, according to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC).
Then, on Dec. 12, the AMCC will award licenses for vertically integrated operations, a designation set primarily for multistate operators.
Licenses are expected to be handed out 28 days after they have been awarded, so MMJ production could begin in early January, according to the Alabama Daily News.
That means MMJ products could be available for patients around early March, an AMCC spokesperson told the media outlet.
Regulators initially awarded 21 business licenses in June, only to void them after applicants alleged inconsistencies with how the applications were scored.
Then, in August, the state awarded 24 different licenses – 19 went to June recipients – only to reverse themselves again and scratch those licenses after spurned applicants filed lawsuits.
A state judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Chicago-based MSO Verano Holdings Corp., but another lawsuit is pending.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/alabama-plans-to-award-medical-cannabis-licenses-dec-1/
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