If recreational marijuana is legalized in Rhode Island, should some employers still be allowed to prohibit employees from using it outside of the workplace?

SEN. JOSHUA MILLER, D-Cranston, says state leaders he’s been meeting with for months on legislation to legalize recreational marijuana want to give businesses in Rhode Island broad protections to maintain a drug-free workplace. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Sen. Joshua Miller, D-Cranston, has told PBN that Statehouse negotiators on legislation to legalize recreational marijuana want to give businesses in Rhode Island similar protections to maintain a drug-free workplace as Connecticut approved earlier this year.

Those protections include allowing all employers to conduct marijuana testing of prospective employees and similar testing or “fitness for duty” evaluations of employees.

Miller co-sponsored a bill legalizing adult use of recreational marijuana that was approved in the Senate but died in the House earlier this year.

He says state Democratic leaders who have been meeting behind the scenes for months on new legislation also agree industries where marijuana use could present a clear safety hazard, such as manufacturing, should be exempted from any new restrictions on employers’ ability to prohibit marijuana use in or out of the workplace.

- Advertisement -

Connecticut exempted its construction, manufacturing and transportation sectors.

If recreational marijuana is legalized in Rhode Island, should some employers still be allowed to prohibit employees from using it outside of the workplace?

No posts to display

2 COMMENTS

  1. It’s more than a safety issue in the construction industry. If someone wants to bid on a federal contract they need to make sure their employees are compliant with federal law.