Employer Cannabis Policy Trends — Who Has Stopped Testing
Over the past five years, a growing number of major American employers have voluntarily dropped pre-employment cannabis testing for non-safety-sensitive positions. This trend is driven by labor market conditions, shifting social attitudes, and the practical problem that metabolite-based testing does not measure impairment. Quest Diagnostics' annual Drug Testing Index documents the shifts in testing outcomes.
Major Employers That Have Dropped Pre-Employment Cannabis Testing
Amazon (June 2021)
Amazon announced in June 2021 that it would stop screening most job applicants for marijuana. As the second-largest private employer in the United States (approximately 1.5 million workers), Amazon's decision was a watershed moment. The company cited difficulty hiring in competitive labor markets and stated publicly that it would also treat cannabis the same as alcohol in its employee policies.
Amazon's DOT-regulated positions (commercial truck drivers, some delivery roles) remain subject to federal testing requirements.
Starbucks, Target, Apple, Microsoft, Chipotle, Whole Foods
Multiple major companies have publicly stated they do not require cannabis pre-employment testing for non-safety-sensitive positions. Details vary by company and role, and safety-sensitive or federally regulated positions may still have testing requirements.
Michigan State Government (September 2023)
Michigan Department of Civil Service halted pre-employment cannabis testing for most classified state employees in September 2023. Safety-sensitive positions remain subject to testing.
New York City Government
NYC stopped testing probationers for marijuana in 2019 and, separately, prohibited pre-employment cannabis testing for most city employees through Int. No. 1445-A.
Washington State Government (2014)
Washington State stopped testing parolees for cannabis in 2014, well before broader state protections were enacted.
Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index Data
Quest Diagnostics publishes an annual Drug Testing Index that tracks positivity rates across the U.S. workforce. Key findings from the 2024 data:
- General U.S. workforce marijuana positivity: 4.5% — the highest recorded rate
- Post-accident marijuana positivity: 7.3%
- Five-year increase (2019–2024): marijuana positivity up 45%
- Substituted (cheating) specimens: surged to the highest level in 30+ years
Quest's CEO and medical directors have publicly noted the disconnect between rising cannabis positivity and unchanged workplace safety metrics in most industries — suggesting that the testing is catching use that is not translating into workplace harm.
Why Employers Are Changing Policies
Several factors drive the trend away from pre-employment cannabis testing:
1. Labor Market Pressure
In tight labor markets, employers that require cannabis testing disqualify significant portions of the applicant pool. When unemployment is low and hiring is difficult, cannabis testing becomes a competitive disadvantage.
2. State Law Requirements
States with pre-employment testing bans (New York, California, Nevada, Washington, and others) force employers to change policies to remain compliant. Once policies are changed for legal reasons in one jurisdiction, many employers apply them nationally for consistency.
3. The Impairment Problem
Employers increasingly recognize that urine drug tests detect past use, not current impairment. Testing for a metabolite that has no relationship to workplace performance is hard to defend on safety grounds — especially when workplace-specific impairment tools (supervisor training, reasonable-suspicion protocols) provide better alternatives.
4. Changed Social Attitudes
Cannabis use is no longer associated with marginal or countercultural communities in the same way it was in the 1980s when the Drug-Free Workplace Act was enacted. Surveys consistently show majority support for legalization and declining public concern about cannabis use outside safety-sensitive contexts.
5. Litigation Risk
As state protection statutes proliferate, testing programs that were once legal have become legal liabilities. Employers facing potential discrimination lawsuits under state law find it simpler to stop testing.
What Employers Have Not Done
Several important caveats:
- DOT-regulated positions remain fully tested. Federal law has not changed, and employers cannot unilaterally exempt DOT positions.
- Safety-sensitive positions typically remain tested even at companies that have dropped general pre-employment testing.
- Reasonable suspicion testing remains. Most employers retain the ability to test employees who show signs of impairment at work.
- Post-accident testing remains common. Workplace accidents often trigger testing regardless of general pre-employment policy.
- Random testing programs continue at companies that have them, particularly in regulated industries.
The Trajectory
The direction of change is clear: fewer employers are testing for cannabis pre-employment, especially in non-safety-sensitive positions. Major employers continue to announce policy changes annually. State legislatures continue to expand protections. The pattern is likely to continue through 2026 and beyond, with federal rescheduling (if it occurs) potentially accelerating the shift.
What is not changing is the federal testing framework for DOT-regulated, federal contractor, and federal employee positions. That system remains grounded in cannabis's Schedule I status and is largely independent of state or employer trends.