One in three Americans now live in a state where cannabis is legal, and those states are introducing laws barring employers from testing for cannabis, making company policies on the issue for multi-state operators increasingly complex.
“For nationwide employers like Amazon, the decision to stop testing for marijuana is becoming recommended course,” Harding told GreenState.
In a way, Amazon is pioneering cannabis acceptance in big business the same way Colorado pioneered legalizing recreational cannabis at the state level.
This increase of the company’s job candidate pool also gives Amazon the opportunity to diversify its workforce, a small step in the right direction for a company whose approach to racial issues has recently fallen under scrutiny.
On the other hand, there’s a downside to being the guinea pig.
“We don’t have the knowledge of cannabis or the technology to say what qualifies as intoxication, and the amount of THC it takes for someone to be obviously high will be different for each employee.
Whether a success or failure in the long run, the results of Amazon’s decision have been nothing but positive for cannabis enthusiasts so far.
“What Amazon’s backing of the MORE Act has done is indicate that a big, familiar businesses is supporting this bill,” Harding said.