Jim Swart, the DOTās director of the Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance, said in a written announcement Monday, Dec. 3, that heās been asked multiple times about whether recent initiatives by Colorado and Washington to legalize the recreational use of marijuana have impacted the DOTās regulations, and in the announcement, Swart says that DOT regulations prohibit all uses of marijuana, including medical, and that state initiatives will have āno bearingā on the DOTās drug testing program.
DOT Medical Review Officers āwill not verify a drug test as negative based upon learning that the employee used ārecreational marijuanaā when states have passedā such measures, Swart says in the announcement. Moreover, officers āwill not verify a drug test negative based upon information that a physician recommended that the employee use āmedical marijuanaā when states have passedā those measures, either.
āIt remains unacceptable for any safety-sensitive employee subject to dug testing under the Department of Transportationās drug testing regulations to use marijuana,ā the announcement concludes.
Read Swartās announcement here.
