What Cities Have Employees Smoking Marijuana?

Recently there have been several studies and surveys showing what cities in America have the highest use of marijuana.  In February of 2018, the Motley Fool listed the 10 Major Cities That Consume the Most Marijuana Each Year.  These included international cities and American cities; New York, Los Angeles and Chicago made the list.

Currently as of January 2019, 33 states allow medical marijuana and 10 States plus the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana.  According to a recent poll by the Pew Research an astounding 62% of Americans, including 74% of millennials, said they supported legalizing marijuana.   As an employer, you should have concerns that your employees are smoking marijuana and with that there is the potential for liability.

Quest Diagnostics, recently reported on the highest marijuana positivity rates in 2017 for workplace drug testing, averaging 2.96%.  This is from actual statistics from employment drug testing.  Our workforce is testing positive for marijuana.  The top ten States for workforce positive rates for marijuana were from:

1. Oregon (3.9%)
2. Maine (3.5%)
3. Massachusetts (3.1%)
4. Rhode Island (3.1%)
5. Vermont (2.9%)
6. Michigan (2.8%)
7. Nevada (2.7%)
8. Washington (2.6%)
9. Arizona (2.5%)
10. Colorado (2.5%)

Looking further into specific metropolitan areas, the top ten highest positive rates were from:

1. Dallas, TX (5.27%)
2. Reno, NV (3.54%)
3. Worcester, MA (3.48%)
4. Jackson, TN (3.23%)
5. Flint, MI (3.23%)
6. Springfield, MA (3.19%)
7. Ann Arbor, MI (3.12%)
8. Detroit, MI (3.11%)
9. Tallahassee, FL (3.11%)
10. Waco, TX (3.09%)

The number one metropolitan area for positive marijuana rates among workplace drug tests was Dallas, Texas and this City/State does not have legal medical marijuana or legal recreational use.  Latest national statistics from 2017 show that over 26 million Americans were current marijuana users.  These findings clearly indicate that American workers and applicants for employment are smoking pot.  Are your employees coming to work stoned or under the influence of marijuana?

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