Last updated : May 12, 2025
With the announcement by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo that through executive order New York State will now allow a limited and strictly regulated prescribed use of Medical Marijuana, many New York State private companies and employers are concerned if their employees will be high while on the job. How will that impact the safety of other workers and the productivity of those employees? What are you, the employer responsible for and what action do you need to take? Will you be required to review the company Drug Free Workplace Policy to ensure that it is compliant with the executive order and federal, state and local laws?
Understanding the complexity of the executive order and its application will be a challenging and potentially a legal question that will require companies to adjust their Drug Free Workplace Policies accordingly. However, individuals in safety sensitive areas and in DOT Regulated Industries such as large trucks, buses, trains and airlines will not see a change in Federal Regulatory areas.
In states like Colorado and Washington, the court upheld the employer’s rights to fire employees who use Medical Marijuana. Should you change your policy?
How will this affect my ability to recruit and hire qualified employees?
Sean Cullen, Regional Director for USA Mobile Drug Testing Empire State-CNY in Syracuse, New York, explains that even if you accept the Governors new executive order and amend your Drug Free Workplace Policy for allowance of the use of Medical Marijuana your company may still subject employees to workplace testing.
Cullen said, “The issuance of the Governors Executive Order that allows the limited use of Medical Marijuana does not preclude the employer’s responsibility to a Drug Free Workplace and Policy that ensures the safety of all employers and consumers of that business.” Going further in describing the challenges that employers may face Regional Director Cullen stated, “New York State is not the first, nor will it be the last state to begin allowing patients to use prescribed Medical Marijuana, however it will incumbent on the state and technology to develop a quantifiable measuring of THC levels that may be acceptable in certain professions in the workplace.”
USA Mobile Drug Testing, is a national company with locations in markets across the United States and is one of the leading Drug Testing & Compliance companies in the industry. USA Mobile Drug Testing Empire State-CNY is the regional office for USA Mobile Drug Testing in the Greater Upstate New York Region and is located at 960 State Fair Blvd. in Syracuse. USA Mobile Drug Testing offer drug testing, BAT testing and DNA testing on a 24 hour 7 day a week basis, Anyone-Anytime-Anywhere.
