Do Medical Marijuana Laws Lessen the Need for Drug Testing?
States with legal medical marijuana such as Colorado and California have laws that attempt to control the distribution of medical marijuana. The laws try to keep anyone who does not have a doctor’s recommendation from illegally getting the drug from dispensaries or care givers. Do these laws have any effect at all on how much illegal marijuana is used in the U.S.? Will there be less of a need for drug testing by employers? The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2009 on marijuana use in 2007. Around six percent of those 12 years of age and older reported using marijuana in the past month. Marijuana use is probably actually much higher than this, and it is higher in some states where medical marijuana is legal than where it is illegal. The truth is that marijuana use by employees or the public at large will probably not change at all, no matter how many laws are passed. Laws may have been passed with the intent of reducing illegal marijuana use in states where medical
