As the decade comes to a close, a time traveler from 2009 might be surprised to see how rapidly laws on marijuana have changed.  Last night’s Democratic Debate even featured a heated discussion about legalizing marijuana.

But let’s imagine that this traveler is from Human Resources. The laws regarding medical marijuana are head-spinning; these laws have resulted in a significant impact in the areas of drug testing, hiring, discipline and ADA accommodations.

Now add the fact that a neighboring state – Massachusetts – has legalized pot and, well, no wonder HR professionals are just trying to play catch up.

Oh, and will Connecticut join Massachusetts in 2020 and legalize pot?

I’ll try to make sense of all of this at an upcoming breakfast sponsored by the Western CT chapter of SHRM. The breakfast is set for December 11, 2019 at 8 a.m. at the Hampton Inn in Danbury.  I’ve even been promised a hot breakfast.

In the interim, I recently came across an excellent slide deck produced by the Connecticut Department of Labor on drug testing. I recommend it as required reading to understand the benefits (and limits) of such testing.   Kudos to Stephen Lattanzio over there for making this resource available for all employers.