In a recent employee update, Amazon, one of the biggest companies in the US, said that they will stop testing some of their employees for cannabis. This is in order to better align their company policies on cannabis with how states are changing their cannabis laws.
37 states have now legalized medical cannabis in various capacities, with the latest being Alabama. 17 of those 37 offer recreational cannabis for adults over 21. Three legalized recreational cannabis just this year: New Mexico, New York, and Virginia. There could still be more to come in both Connecticut and Delaware.
Amazon’s goal is to be ‘Earth’s Best Employer’ and ‘Earth’s Safest Place to Work’ over the next few years, according to outgoing CEO Jeff Bezos. In order to do so, they want their policies to better reflect these new changes in the law. Cannabis will be treated the same as alcohol.
Policy Change
While most employees won’t be tested for cannabis, any employee part of the Department of Transportation, such as drivers and package handlers, will still be tested. This is to make sure that any drivers or handlers are as safe as possible and not influenced by anything. There will continue to be impairment checks for employees while they are on the clock. Additionally, Amazon will test for all drugs and alcohol after any incident that occurs.
“In the past, like many employers, we’ve disqualified people from working at Amazon if they tested positive for marijuana use,” Amazon said in a post on the updated policy. “However, given where state laws are moving across the U.S., we’ve changed course.”
MORE Act
Amazon also announced that the company would be lobbying and pushing toward cannabis legalization through the MORE Act. This act saw original introduction into the US House in December 2020 and passed on to the Senate. It died as the session came to a close before the Senate acted. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrald Nadler (D-NY) reintroduced the MORE Act into the House recently.
“Because we know that this issue is bigger than Amazon, our public policy team will be actively supporting The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2021 (MORE Act)—federal legislation that would legalize marijuana at the federal level, expunge criminal records, and invest in impacted communities,” the company post continues. “We hope that other employers will join us, and that policymakers will act swiftly to pass this law.”
Amazon has not stated when these new policies will begin, but the hope is soon. Activists and lawmakers, including Congressman Sevan Horsford (D-NV), took to Twitter to express their gratitude towards the large company for advocating for their employees. Perhaps other companies will follow Amazon’s lead in new policy changes surrounding cannabis, but only time will tell.
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