{"id":5335,"date":"2022-04-07T20:38:15","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T20:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=201373"},"modified":"2022-04-07T20:38:15","modified_gmt":"2022-04-07T20:38:15","slug":"medical-marijuana-patients-targeted-by-sneaky-new-federal-drug-testing-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=5335","title":{"rendered":"Medical marijuana patients targeted by sneaky new federal drug testing rule"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <title>Medical marijuana patients targeted by sneaky new federal drug testing rule | Leafly<\/title>     <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t   <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v18.1 (Yoast SEO v18.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->                   <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information -->  <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <\/p>\n<div id=\"copy_clipboard_success\" class=\"fixed top-0 left-0 right-0\">\n<div class=\"bg-white p-lg container mt-xl flex justify-between elevation-low rounded\"> <span class=\"flex items-center\">     <span class=\"ml-md\">Link copied to your clipboard<\/span> <\/span> <button id=\"copy_clipboard_close_btn\">    <\/button> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <title>Leafly<\/title>     <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              <title>Loading\u2026<\/title>                     <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<h3 id=\"h-proposed-change-would-affect-9-million-fed-workers-and-contractors\">Proposed change would affect 9 million fed workers and contractors<\/h3>\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">In a proposed new revision to federal drug testing rules, government drug warriors are specifically targeting medical marijuana patients in an attempt to undermine the legal status of medical marijuana in 38 states. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-left\">\n<p>A cruel relic of the \u2018Just Say No\u2019 era targets state medical marijuana laws and patients. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The new language, slipped quietly into a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/FR-2022-04-07\/pdf\/2022-06886.pdf?utm_source=federalregister.gov&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=subscription+mailing+list\">proposed revision<\/a> published in the Federal Register this morning, states that \u201ca physician\u2019s authorization or medical recommendation for a Schedule I substance is not an acceptable medical explanation for a positive drug test.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In other words: The federal government is doubling down on its insistence that cannabis is a substance \u201cwith no currently accepted medical use in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Currently, 38 states have legalized the medical use of cannabis for patients who obtain a medical authorization.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-why-this-is-important\">Why this is important<\/h2>\n<p>The proposed new rule comes out of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Most people who have heard of SAMHSA know of it because of the agency\u2019s annual <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samhsa.gov\/data\/data-we-collect\/nsduh-national-survey-drug-use-and-health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Survey on Drug Use and Health<\/a>, which tracks the use of, and attitudes toward, various drugs.<\/p>\n<p>But SAMHSA also oversees the rules on drug testing for federal agencies\u2014rules that apply to most of the roughly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/policy2020\/votervital\/public-service-and-the-federal-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">9 million people<\/a> employed by Uncle Sam, including members of the military. That\u2019s almost 6% of the total American workforce. <\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/cannabis-101\/how-to-pass-a-drug-test-guide\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>How to pass a drug test for weed\u2013the ultimate guide<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-a-relic-of-reagan-s-just-say-no-campaign\">A relic of Reagan\u2019s \u2018Just Say No\u2019 campaign<\/h2>\n<p>Justin Strekal, founder of the BOWL PAC, a legalization group aimed at supporting legalization at the Congressional level, noted that the proposed change \u201cclarifies the existing oppressive and senseless&nbsp;process of drug testing for trace elements of THC, regardless of the worker having a physician\u2019s recommendation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is appalling that President Biden has done nothing to address the Reagan-era reefer madness executive order that prohibits the government from hiring qualified workers on the sole basis that they consume cannabis in their off-the-clock hours,\u201d Strekal added.<\/p>\n<p>That Reagan-era order, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/federal-register\/codification\/executive-order\/12564.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">EO 12564<\/a>, established government-wide \u201cdrug-free workplace\u201d policies that include drug testing. The order was signed by President Reagan on Sept. 15, 1986, the day after the President and Nancy Reagan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/speeches\/nancy-reagan-introduces-just-say-no-campaign\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">appeared on national television<\/a> to kick off the First Lady\u2019s infamous \u201cJust Say No\u201d campaign.<\/p>\n<p>To be clear: SAMHSA\u2019s existing federal drug testing rules don\u2019t specifically <em>allow<\/em> a patient who tests positive for cannabis to simply show their state med card and get a free pass. But there might exist a little allowance room, depending on the judgment of a federal agency\u2019s Medical Review Officer.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/lifestyle\/marijuana-drug-tests-are-now-illegal-in-most-workplaces-in-new-york-state\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>Marijuana drug tests are now illegal in most workplaces in New York State<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-what-s-a-medical-review-officer\">What\u2019s a Medical Review Officer?<\/h2>\n<p>Federal agencies and departments employ (or contract with) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samhsa.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/mro-manual.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Medical Review Officers<\/a> (MROs). These are licensed physicians who serve as the point of contact between the federal employee, the test facility, and the employer.<\/p>\n<p>One of the main duties of the MRO is to investigate \u201cfailed\u201d drug tests and determine, in consultation with the employee, whether there is a legitimate medical explanation for the drug test results. An MRO is a medical professional who is tasked with investigating and interpreting the results. For instance, an employee may have recently undergone surgery or be taking prescribed medication under a physician\u2019s guidance. The MRO will undertake to verify and understand the circumstances, so that a single drug test doesn\u2019t scuttle a job, a career, or a life.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-medical-recommendation-not-an-acceptable-medical-explanation\">Medical recommendation not an acceptable medical explanation<\/h2>\n<p>If the proposed new rule were to be adopted, Medical Review Officers would specifically be forbidden from accepting an employee\u2019s medical condition, need for medical cannabis, and physician\u2019s recommendation, as a legitimate medical explanation for the drug test results. In other words, the new rule would eliminate any interpretive wiggle room for MROs throughout the federal government.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear how many federal employees would be affected by the new rule, because it\u2019s unclear how many federal employees have had their THC-flagged drug tests overruled by an understanding MRO.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-this-is-how-federal-prohibition-hurts-people\">This is how federal prohibition hurts people<\/h2>\n<p>All of this is slightly insane but a logical outcome of the federal government\u2019s continued refusal to change its outdated, disproven, and harmful categorization of cannabis as a Schedule I drug. That categorization was first established by Congress and President Richard Nixon for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vera.org\/reimagining-prison-webumentary\/the-past-is-never-dead\/drug-war-confessional\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">purely political reasons<\/a> in the early 1970s. Nixon\u2019s own presidential-appointed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yesweekly.com\/cannabis\/50-years-ago-congress-own-expert-commission-demanded-they-repeal-marijuana-prohibition\/article_1c83c276-a926-11ec-b77d-e76064b2459d.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">commission<\/a>, after lengthy investigation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC1749335\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">found<\/a> that the Schedule I categorization of cannabis was unfounded and needlessly harmful. Nevertheless, it persists to this day.<\/p>\n<p>Medical marijuana was first legalized by California voters in 1996. Since then, 37 other states have legalized the medical use of cannabis. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2021\/04\/16\/americans-overwhelmingly-say-marijuana-should-be-legal-for-recreational-or-medical-use\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Current polls<\/a> indicate that 91% of all Americans believe cannabis should be legal for medical use.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-federal-agencies-continue-to-test-for-thc\">Federal agencies continue to test for THC<\/h2>\n<p>Despite all the evidence, the federal government continues to cling to marijuana\u2019s Schedule I status. Many federal employees are forced to submit to drug tests that include a test for the presence of THC that may have been ingested many weeks previous. Those drug tests occur\u2014and federal employees still lose their jobs\u2014even in states where it\u2019s legal for all adults to grow, possess, and sell cannabis.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-can-you-change-alter-or-end-this-proposed-rule\">Can you change, alter, or end this proposed rule?<\/h2>\n<p>Yes. The public comment period on this rule is currently open, but it closes at the end of business on June 6, 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Go to the federal government\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.regulations.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">regulations comment page<\/a>, and follow the \u201cSubmit a comment\u201d instructions. Be sure to refer to file code SAMHSA 2022-0001.<\/p>\n<p>Also: Contact your state\u2019s two senators and your local representative in Congress. They can put pressure on SAMHSA and HHS leaders to scuttle this cruel and unnecessary rule.<\/p>\n<p>Let them know what you think. It matters.<\/p>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/medical-marijuana-patients-targeted-by-sneaky-new-federal-drug-testing-rule.jpg\" alt=\"Bruce Barcott's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>Bruce Barcott<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Leafly Senior Editor Bruce Barcott oversees news, investigations, and feature projects. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and author of Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/bruce-barcott\">View Bruce Barcott&#8217;s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. 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Proposed change would affect 9 million fed workers and contractors In a proposed new revision to federal drug testing rules, government drug warriors are specifically targeting medical marijuana patients in an attempt to undermine the&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/medical-marijuana-patients-targeted-by-sneaky-new-federal-drug-testing-rule.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}