Many retailers wonder what effect, if any, legalization of recreational marijuana has on their ability to maintain a drug free workplace.

Recreational marijuana has been legalized in Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Marijuana still remains an illegal Schedule I substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act, and therefore still subject to prosecution under federal law.

Legalization of marijuana in the above states does not affect an employer’s ability to enact and enforce workplace restrictions related to drug possession, use, impairment, and testing. For example, California’s “Control, Regulate, and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act,” commonly referred to as Proposition 64, contains express language specifying that it does not:

• affect the rights and obligations of public and private employers to maintain a drug and alcohol-free workplace;
• require an employer to permit or accommodate the use, consumption, possession, transfer, display, transportation, sale, or growth of marijuana in