It Might Get Easier for California Cannabis Users to Get a Job with the State

After a marked increase in state agency job applicants being rejected for marijuana use, advocates are calling for legislation to make it easier for weed users in California to get work with the state. A report in the Los Angeles Times states that at least one bill has been introduced to correct the issue. Rob Bonta, a Democrat Assemblyman from Alameda, has drafted a bill that would prohibit government and private employers from rejecting applicants for their use of medical marijuana.

The bill introduced by Bonta would open opportunities for thousands of Californians. For example, between 2015, the year before cannabis was legalized in California, and 2018, just the number of state correctional officer applicants disqualified for cannabis use jumped from 503 to 1,053, a more-than-100% increase. The bill would not apply to positions that are “safety-sensitive” where federal law requires workers to be drug free.