Marijuana Workers Wonder if Their Job Will Hinder Future Employment Prospects

Some workers in the marijuana industry in Colorado are wondering whether having a marijuana-related job will hamper future employment prospects, The Wall Street Journal reports.

“It just brings up whole other levels of conversation,” said Lisa Severy, Director of Career Services at the University of Colorado at Boulder. “It’s an opportunity to see an industry grow, no pun intended, from the ground up,” she said. “But the question mark then becomes: Is there, in some people’s minds, a stigma about it?” She tells students to think ahead to where they ultimately want to work, and to consider whether they hope to land a job in a conservative industry. She reminds them they may be drug-tested when they start a new job, even though recreational marijuana is legal in the state.

In the four months since the state legalized recreational marijuana, a number of new jobs have opened up, ranging from growers to bookkeepers. New marijuana retail stores will open starting in October. Tax revenues from recreational marijuana are expected to hit $98 million this year, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Some employers state their position about marijuana use in job postings. A Denver job posting for Atrium Windows and Doors states, “We wish to make our position clear regarding working under the influence of marijuana in states where medicinal and/or recreational marijuana is legal under that state’s laws. Atrium adheres to a zero tolerance drug/alcohol policy as stated in our corporate policy handbook.”

A posting for a job in the veteran’s services division of Larimer County states, “As marijuana is an illegal substance under federal law, testing positive for marijuana (medical or otherwise) or any other substance for which the county tests, will result in the contingent offer of employment being revoked.”