As the Chair of the Government Affairs Committee for National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA), I am frequently asked why marijuana rescheduling is so important to NDASA and its members.
Below are many of the unintended consequences of marijuana rescheduling.
Marijuana Rescheduling: What It Means
Marijuana rescheduling refers to changing marijuana’s legal classification under controlled substance law. A lower schedule may suggest accepted medical use or lower abuse risk than previously recognized.
To many people, rescheduling sounds like a technical legal change. In practice, it can shape business policy, public messaging, law enforcement priorities, and social attitudes. It can also create confusion.
One major concern is that rescheduling may be misunderstood as a declaration that marijuana is harmless. It can be. A scheduling change does not erase the real effects of intoxication, dependency risk, cognitive impairment, or public safety concerns.
Workplace Safety Risks Linked to Marijuana Rescheduling
The biggest concern for many employers is workplace safety.
Increased perception that marijuana is safe
When laws become more permissive, workers may assume marijuana use is no big deal. Some may treat it like alcohol or even less seriously. That shift in attitude can lead to more on-the-job impairment, especially in roles involving vehicles, tools, machinery, patient care, or public contact.
Impairment can affect judgment and reaction time
Marijuana can affect:
Reaction time
Attention
Coordination
Short-term memory
Decision-making
Situational awareness
In a safety-sensitive job, even mild impairment can be dangerous. A forklift operator, nurse, roofer, electrician, or machine tech does not need to be visibly intoxicated to make a costly mistake.
Testing challenges remain
Alcohol impairment is easier to measure in the moment. Marijuana is harder. A person may test positive for THC after the main psychoactive effects are gone. That creates a real problem for employers trying to separate past use from active impairment.
If rescheduling leads to weaker workplace testing policies, employers may have fewer tools to manage risk even while the science of real-time impairment remains incomplete.
More disputes over discipline and policy
As marijuana laws change, employers may face more confusion about what rules still apply. Workers may believe legal use off duty should never affect employment. Employers, especially in safety-sensitive industries, may disagree. This tension can lead to:
HR disputes
Wrongful termination claims
Policy inconsistency
Confusion among supervisors
Uneven enforcement
Legal Considerations for Employers and Workers
Marijuana law is not uniform. Federal law, state law, and workplace policy may all say different things.
Conflict between state legality and employer rules
Even in states where marijuana is legal for medical or recreational use, employers may still ban use or impairment at work. Some jobs also fall under federal rules or federal contracts, which can require stricter standards.
This can create a confusing environment. A worker may believe marijuana use is lawful, yet still fail a workplace drug test and face consequences.
Accommodation issues
Medical marijuana raises another legal challenge. Employees may request accommodation for marijuana use tied to a health condition. Employers must balance disability law, safety obligations, and company policy. That is rarely simple, especially in jobs where any impairment creates serious risk.
Liability after accidents
If an employer loosens drug policy after marijuana rescheduling and a worker later causes an accident, the company may face major exposure. Lawyers, insurers, regulators, and injured parties may ask whether the employer took reasonable safety steps.
That is why many organizations remain cautious, even as laws change.
Societal Impacts of Marijuana Rescheduling
The effects of marijuana rescheduling could reach far beyond the workplace.
Normalization of frequent use
A legal shift can change public perception. If marijuana seems officially safer, more people may use it more often. That can increase the number of people driving, working, or caring for others while under some degree of impairment.
Youth perception of harm may decline
When society sends the message that marijuana is less risky, young people may hear that it is risk-free. That is a problem. Adolescents and young adults are still developing mentally and emotionally. Early and frequent use may affect learning, memory, motivation, and mental health.
Mental health concerns
For some users, marijuana is linked to anxiety, panic, dependence, and in some cases psychotic symptoms, especially with high-potency products or frequent use. Broader access and lower perceived risk may increase exposure among people who are more vulnerable to these outcomes.
Public health burden
If use rises, communities may see more demand for treatment, more impaired driving concerns, and more strain on schools, families, and healthcare systems. Even if some people use marijuana without obvious short-term harm, that does not remove the larger public health questions.
A Balanced but Cautious Approach
None of this means every person who uses marijuana is reckless or that every legal reform is harmful by definition. But rescheduling should not be treated as proof of safety. That would be a mistake.
A balanced approach recognizes two truths at once:
Laws can change.
Risks do not disappear because laws change.
Employers still need clear drug policies. Workers still need to understand the difference between legality and job fitness. Families, schools, and communities still need honest education about impairment and long-term effects.
My biggest concern, without a Safety Carve Out – all DOT Safety Sensitive Employees will no longer be tested for Marijuana. Marijuana testing has been the guardrail that has kept DOT catostrophic accidents to zero.
Does that mean School Bus Drivers, truckers, airline pilots and more can now smoke marijuana and maybe under the influence. The answer is YES!!!
What Can You DO?
Contact your local US House of Representative and/or Senator to request that a Safety Carve Out is granted for all DOT Safety Sensitive Employees so we can keep the transportation sector and local communities SAFE!!
The Mission of the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association is to advocate for safe and drug-free workplaces and communities through legislative advocacy, education, training and excellence in drug and alcohol screening services.
More about NDASA:
Welcome to the National Drug & Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA)!
NDASA is the voice of the nation’s drug and alcohol screening industry. Our diverse membership includes testing companies, employers, laboratories, Third Party Administrators, human resources managers, safety professionals, substance abuse counselors and others. We stand together to maintain drug-free workplaces and protect public safety.
To promote our industry’s interests, NDASA provides best-practices professional training and certification, hosts national and regional educational conferences, offers informational resources, leads governmental advocacy efforts on federal and state levels, and works closely with regulators who impact our industry, including the U.S. Department of Transportation.
As a 501C organization, NDASA is committed to serving our members in a professional and transparent manner and while we are governed by an elected Board of Directors, we are proud that our association is member driven and member owned.
The Why
NDASA was founded in 2018 as a public safety response to a growing need for training, advocacy and best-practice standards for the drug and alcohol testing industry. The data tells the story:
- Employee substance use costs U.S. employers more than $164 billion annually and small-business owners face upwards of $7,000 per month in lost revenue due to employee turnover, absenteeism, lack of productivity, accidents, injuries, and even workplace fatalities.
- According to the U.S. Department of Justice 50 percent of workplace accidents and up to 40 percent of employee theft is caused by drug abuse.
- Nearly 70 percent of the estimated 22.4 million illicit drug users, ages 18 or older, are employed full or part time.
- Some 41.2 million binge drinkers are in the workplace.
- The rate of workforce drug positivity hit a 16-year high in 2019, according to Quest Diagnostics.
- Ongoing changes in drug legislation are making the development and enforcement of workplace drug policies, increasingly difficult. As of 2020, 33 states have legalized marijuana for medical use and 10 states and the District of Columbia for recreational use. Some states, including Oregon, are moving toward decriminalization of a host of other illicit substances.
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