Bimonthly News Update

We encourage you to share this bimonthly news update with your colleagues and business associates to stay informed on the issues regarding establishing and maintaining a drug-free workplace. A sign-up link can be found at the bottom of this issue for anyone interested in becoming a new member of Drugs Don’t Work in NJ and to directly receive these free updates.

*Disclaimer: Articles and links within articles below do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey

• The Loss Of A Great Advisor to The Partnership – Powell T. Stevenson 

It is with great sadness that I have learned of the passing of Powell T. Stevenson. Powell was a loyal and dedicated member of The Partnership For A Drug Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) Advisory Board for more than 15 years, and was truly committed to establishing and maintaining drug-free workspaces in the New Jersey business community.

• Upcoming Presentation: Medical Marijuana - What's a NJ Employer to Do? 

Speaker Emily Bordens, an employment attorney, will discuss what is specifically required with the recent amendments to New Jersey's medical marijuana law and how it affects the workplace.

• Drugs in the Workplace: The Steps Companies Are Taking to Manage Employees who test Positive

From medical marijuana to opioid abuse, drug usage is front and center in today's world. How are companies tackling this issue and what steps can business owners take to manage employees who test positive?

• State seeks to make comp insurers cover medical marijuana 

New Jersey lawmakers are considering legislation that would require that workers compensation insurers pay for medical marijuana, according to a draft of a bill prefiled Monday.

• Top cannabis insiders to discuss countdown to N.J. legal weed at this business meetup

We’re fast approaching 300 days until Election Day — when New Jersey voters will decide whether recreational cannabis should be legal.

• New Jersey Court Orders Employer to Reimburse Worker for Medical Marijuana Expenses in Workers’ Compensation Case 

In a case of first impression, the New Jersey Appellate Division held that it was appropriate for a workers’ compensation judge to order an employer to reimburse its employee for his medical marijuana expenses as part of his workers’ compensation case. Vincent Hager v. M&K Construction, Docket No. A-0102-18T3 (N.J. App. Div. January 13, 2020).

• 24 charged in drug operation that turned Sour Patch Kids, Nerds candies into marijuana edibles

What looked from the outside like an unsuspecting Manalapan warehouse was on the inside the staging area for an illegal narcotics operation that converted pieces of candy into illegal products called edibles by infusing them with THC, a chemical found in marijuana, authorities announced Tuesday.

• Cannabis bills to get a hearing before powerful House panel chaired by Jersey Democrat

WASHINGTON — Legislation to remove the federal ban on cannabis and to expand research into its potential medical benefits gets a hearing Wednesday before a subcommittee of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.

• FMCSA Calls for More Random Drug Tests

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced December 27, 2019, that it is doubling the minimum annual percentage rate of random drug testing for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers

• Employers Feeling Dazed and Confused by Marijuana Laws

In the past few years, “weed at work” has grown as a workplace issue.

• The Fight for Employee Rights for Medical Marijuana Users 

Medical marijuana, also called cannabis, can change lives for the better. It can even make the difference between a painful, unproductive life and an enjoyable, gainfully employed one.

• 2020 Predictions from Cannabis Industry Experts: More Insurance Business

More legalization in more states. More product liability risks. More regulations. More M&A.More of many things is what insurance professionals involved in the cannabis industry can expect in 2020.

• Workplace Wellness Comes for the Working Class: U-Haul is the latest American company seeking more control of its employees’ lives

In the last days of 2019, as millions of Americans were contemplating their resolutions for the year ahead, the moving-and-storage company U-Haul set one for all of its future employees. 

• Workplace Initiatives Helping to Fight Opioid Epidemic 

In the months after John Hindman lost his son to a heroin overdose in 2016, he discovered that he was not alone in his grief.

• From Marijuana Mandates To ‘Ban The Box’ Rules: 2019 Laws And Legal Decisions Force Big Changes In Hiring

For employers, the past decade came with plenty of highs, lows, and turbulence.

• Using Marijuana is Legal – But It can still get You Fired, “Human Resource Professionals Will Have Their Hands Full”

Now that recreational pot is legal in Illinois, marijuana enthusiasts may feel like it’s finally time to emerge from hiding.

• Group Fighting for Employment for Medical Marijuana Users

TULSA, Okla. — A local medical marijuana group, Cannabis Party USA, is looking to file two new ballot initiatives aimed at protecting medical cannabis user's rights.

• Colorado marijuana users could use pot without fear of losing jobs with proposed bill  

Some Colorado lawmakers want to define marijuana use as a “lawful activity,” barring the firing of employees for off-the-clock use of the drug and overriding a 2015 Colorado Supreme Court decision.

• Workplace protections for medical marijuana users: FL lawmakers, advocates hope to pass 2020 law 

As medical marijuana use continues to gain popularity in Florida, advocates and lawmakers want to ensure that qualified patients in the workplace won’t get in trouble if they use the drug as a treatment.

• County to offer overdose reversal drug to businesses for public use 

After a decade that saw more than 2,600 people die of overdose deaths in Montgomery County, businesses will soon be able to request a free opioid rescue kit that contains the overdose-reversing drug naloxone.

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