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When Shelley Peebles found a dental hygienist job in Austin, she was thrilled. Her hours had been reduced at the company where she worked in New Braunfels, Tex., and she needed a full-time job to support her two children. Everything was looking up — until the recruiter told her she would need to get drug-tested.
“My heart sank,” said Peebles, who turned to cannabis edibles in 2021 to help with shoulder and neck pain triggered by post-traumatic stress disorder. “I was worried I was going to have to give up a really great job to keep using my medicine.”
In Texas, medical use of cannabis products with low doses of the psychoactive component known as THC is legal, but it’s not protected by employment laws. That means employers are free to implement no-tolerance policies. Though Peebles assumed she’d lose out on the job, she told the recruiter about her use. To her surprise, she landed the position — despite a positive drug test.
Across America, attitudes toward marijuana in the workplace are shifting rapidly as more states legalize it and even create protections for off-hour usage. Some employers are dropping THC from preemployment drug tests, while others are taking a more lenient view when job candidates test positive. Other companies — especially in industries such as manufacturing that are strapped for talent — are advertising that they don’t require a drug test at all in hopes of luring applicants.
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