A top official with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) says that as more states have moved to legalize marijuana, public opinion has “shifted dramatically” and federal agencies are seeing an “uptick” in positive drug tests for cannabis that’s causing more workers to be fired.
In a blog post addressed to federal employees last week, USFS Deputy Chief for Business Operations Tony Dixon said that over the past decade, “our views around the use of marijuana have shifted radically.” Noting that a growing number of states are enacting legalization, he asked, “where does that leave the federal government?”
“The Forest Service is a federal agency and, as a result, we are subject to any and all federal regulations that are in place,” Dixon wrote. “That means that all of us, as federal employees, are required to remain drug-free and refrain from federally prohibited drug use whether on- or off-duty, regardless of state law.”
“As a result of the confusion around these state-by-state changes, there has been a noticeable uptick in cases of employees failing drug tests,” the Forest Service official continued. “Those results have been associated with the legalization of marijuana and have resulted in corrective action, including suspensions and loss
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