EDITORIAL: Legal marijuana and employer drug testing

Nevada and other states that have recently legalized recreational marijuana won’t know the long-term ramifications for a great many years. But some trends are readily apparent, particularly for companies struggling to hire blue-collar workers.

The New York Times reported last month that employers offering good-paying, middle-class jobs find that too many applicants can’t pass a required drug test.

“The opioid epidemic and, to some extent, wider marijuana use,” the paper found, “are hitting businesses and the economy in ways that are beginning to be acknowledged by policy makers and other experts.”

The problem goes beyond unfilled jobs. Many workers are unable to advance to better-paying opportunities because they can’t survive a drug screening. That has implications for a wide range of economic issues, including wage growth and productivity.

“It’s not just a matter of labor participation; there is also a lot of collateral economic damage,” Alan B. Krueger, a Princeton economist, told the paper. “This hasn’t gotten as much attention as the participation issue, but we could potentially match perhaps 10 percent of the population in better jobs. That could have a positive, cascading effect on wages.”

While voters in Nevada and other states are taking a more tolerant view on marijuana use, employers remain adamant about drug testing, largely due to insurance requirements and liability issues. That means the problem could potentially get worse if more people perceive legalization as a green light to regularly toke away.

“I’ve heard kids say pot isn’t a drug,” a representative from a group that provides job skills training told the Times. “It may not be, but pot will prevent you from getting a job.”

Indeed, those kids, and plenty of adults, may be in for a rude awakening.