If you have ever shown up to your place of employment and thought yourself, “Sweet Jesus, everyone I work with is stoned,” there is a pretty good chance that you were right — at least partially. A recent study conducted by Survey Monkey in association with the folks at Mashable finds that nearly 10 percent of the American workforce has gone to work blazed out of their minds on marijuana.
What this means is if you are currently reading this article at the office — look around because at least one in 10 of your co-workers are slaving away with a buzz. However, since you found this article on the High Times website, there is a distinct possibility that you are, in fact, one of the potheads — and a generous one at that. The survey indicates that many stoned servants — 81 percent — are sharing their illegal weed with others in workplace.
Unfortunately, being an avid drug user and a contributing member of society can sometimes get confounded due to conflicting state and federal law. Although marijuana is legal for recreational purposes in Colorado and Washington and for medicinal use in 23 other states and the District of Columbia, employers still have the right to enforce a drug free workplace, which includes imposing a ban on weed simply because it is not legal under any circumstance in the eyes of Uncle Sam.
This contradiction has caused some workers who get high in legal states to end up low in the employment line. Perhaps this is why many of them have found a way to cheat the system by using doctor prescribed medications, like narcotic painkillers and amphetamines, to make the workday a little brighter without running the risk of failing a drug test. Survey Monkey found that nearly 30 percent of the workforce has employed this concept, with 95 percent claiming to have legally obtained hardcore pharmaceuticals from their physician.
The good news is the only employers that are required to conduct random drug screens on their workers are those forced to abide rules dictated by federal regulators, such as OSHA. Considering this, it may be a good idea for the stoner nation to refrain from joining the manufacturing industry –– it is simply too risky. Most companies that do not use heavy machinery could care less what is in an employee’s recreational drug repertoire, as long as it does not interfere with their job performance or the company’s bottom line.
Yet, it is important to remember that marijuana use, even in legal states, can disqualify an employee’s eligibility for workers’ compensation, and showing up to work stoned can get you fired. Despite changing laws, employers have a tendency to frown on their worker’s use of recreational intoxicants while on the clock. This, however, is not due to any prejudiced against marijuana — the business world has utilized this tactic for years in regards to alcohol.
