As the federal government and different companies slowly come to accept cannabis use, certain companies are actually removing the cannabis testing requirement for employees. Some other organizations, like the MLB, have already moved away from testing it with some others just beginning to follow their example. Amazon, the popular online store, is one of those that are beginning to cease testing for THC and cannabis use. This is something they’ve promised for months now. To go even further, they’re not going to stop there and are actually undoing some of their past actions as well.

Changes

Amazon Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Beth Galetti, stated in a blog post on Sept. 21 that the company was changing its stance on cannabis. Galetti stated that they would be “reinstating employment eligibility for former employees and applicants who were previously terminated or deferred” due to marijuana screenings.

Reasons

The reasons behind this change was a result of a few realizations that Galetti reached. Firstly, Galetti stated that Amazon took into consideration the fact that legalization was “sweeping the country,” which made it difficult for them to create a proper testing program. Secondly, they found that the pre-employment testing severely affected people of color. Lastly, they explained that, with Amazon continuing to grow, removing the testing gave them more potential applicants.

Pushing Forward

Like a recent statement put forth by the U.S. Council of Mayors, Amazon is not just sitting back and waiting for change to happen. The online seller is working with legislators to try and push them. In fact, one of the main things they are seeking is the removal of cannabis from the Controlled Substance Act.

Hope

It is the hope of many activists that more companies will follow this example. Additionally, they hope that this will help to further push the debate towards federal legalization of cannabis.

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