Seyfarth Synopsis: Every year, employers find themselves revisiting their marijuana and drug testing policies to account for newly enacted laws at the state and local level. Now is no different. Below are some highlights of what happened in 2021.
Connecticut
On June 22, 2021, Connecticut legalized recreational marijuana use by adults 21 years and older.
Continue Reading Marijuana Laws Impacting Employers Spread Like a Weed in 2021: A Year in Review
By Adam R. Young, Robert T. Szyba, Robert S. Whitman, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York Department of Labor published “Frequently Asked Questions” which address occupational cannabis issues under the adult-use cannabis and the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA).
New York State has legalized medical and recreational marijuana, and
Continue Reading New York Department of Labor Attempts to Prohibit Drug Testing for Cannabis, Employment Actions Against Some Employees Who are Impaired at Work
By
Seyfarth Synopsis: As previously reported here, on February 22, 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed A21, the “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act” (CREAMMA), which is enabling legislation for the amendment to the New Jersey Constitution making lawful the recreational use of marijuana in the state.
While the new
By Eric Janson and Adam R. Young
Seyfarth Synopsis: While the votes continue to be tallied in the Presidential election, one thing is certain – it was a BIG night for cannabis in America with five new states approving ballot measures to legalize recreational or medical marijuana.
With these new laws, nearly 110 million Americans (or over 1/3 of
Continue Reading And the Winner of the 2020 Election Is…Marijuana!
Seyfarth Synopsis: As we reported here, the CBD (cannabidiol) craze is sweeping the nation. By 2022, it is expected to be a $22 billion per year industry. That said, if a CBD product has a concentration of more than 0.3% of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an amount generally viewed to be sufficient to produce a psychoactive
Continue Reading Department of Transportation Cautions Employers About CBD Use By Regulated Workers
By Jennifer L. Mora and Adam R. Young
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers considering a tolerant attitude towards recreational cannabis in the workplace should consider safety hazards and legal liabilities.
In the heyday of the two-martini lunch, employers regularly tolerated alcohol in the workplace or employees presumably impaired by alcohol returning to work. Over the succeeding decades, employers began to concentrate
Continue Reading Weed at Work: Should Employers Expand “Alcohol at Work” to Cover Recreational Cannabis?
By Condon McGlothlen, Marc Jacobs, and Adam R. Young
Seyfarth Synopsis: Earlier this month, Governor Pritzker signed into law SB 1557, revising the Recreational Cannabis Law to expand permissible marijuana testing and related adverse action.
The Original Legalization Bill As Enacted
The Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (410 ILCS 705) (the “Legalization Act”) legalizes recreational
Continue Reading Illinois Amends Recreational Cannabis Law To Protect Drug Testing By Employers
By Tonya M. Esposito and Renee B. Appel
Seyfarth Synopsis: In its largest mass enforcement action involving cannabidiol (CBD) yet, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced on November 25 the issuance of 15 warning letters to various companies for illegally selling products containing CBD. In addition to the letters, the FDA published a revised Consumer Update detailing
Continue Reading FDA Stresses CBD Safety Concerns in 15 Warning Letters and Revised Consumer Update
By Tonya M. Esposito and Renee B. Appel
Seyfarth Synopsis: Businesses should take note of recent developments in the CBD space. Consumer protection regulatory agencies issued another joint warning to a company selling CBD products making allegedly unsubstantiated claims. And, the FDA continues to stick to its public position that it is working toward both understanding the impact of
Continue Reading FDA and FTC Issue Joint Warning Letter For CBD Products and Senator Schumer Applies Pressure on FDA to Regulate CBD
By Anthony Califano, Jennifer Mora, and Frederick T. Smith
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers are grappling with the wave of marijuana laws sweeping the nation, some of which provide very employee-friendly protections. While no state requires an employer to tolerate employees’ use of marijuana or impairment while they are working, present drug testing methodologies cannot determine whether an employee
Continue Reading Marijuana Breathalyzers: Could New Testing Methods Help Employers And Employees?