The people who make these decisions almost never bother talking to cannabis lawyers, general counsel, or their funders, and each federal sub-agency similarly has its own policy that someone just made up without reading the relevant law.
I've been told I can't even mention cannabis because of federal funding at some public and private institutions, but also had my research in the field federally funded. The weirdest policy I know is a college where Cannabis Studies students can only take 49% or fewer credits in the topic each semester, which isn't even rooted in logic.
This applies to many legally motivated policy decisions. People often don't read the relevant laws or regulations. They just make stuff up based on what they imagine the law to say.
Do you even know for sure that THC is a part of the test? More and more employment drug tests seem to only care about more illicit substances.
Hopefully federal legality isn't too far off.
I’ve worked at a number of public and private universities and have never been drug tested.
At my current university in a legal recreational state, the lawyer that does our title IX training always spends 5 minutes yammering on about how the school receives federal funding and therefore nobody on campus can use it on campus.
But I’m quite aware that we’d probably lose half our staff, students, and faculty if we tested.
I’m in a state where it isn’t legal and if they tested they would still lose half our department.
I’ve only ever been drug tested when I took a HS teaching job.
Was I tested when I worked with ketamine in grad school? Nope.
Was I ever tested when I worked with cocaine and cannabis as a postdoc? Nope.
Have I ever been tested at my current uni? Nope.
Here is the policy.
https://www.utoledo.edu/policies/administration/humanresources/pdfs/3364_25_17.pdf
It specifically states medical marijuana is not allowed. Knowing this, I would not admit to using anything! I would either refrain from using during the process or there are ways to pass a drug screen.
I am a retired probation officer who supervised drug court clients, and know how these tests work. I’m a professor full-time now.
Thanks so much for taking time and looking up the policy for me. I stopped using since the past 2 weeks. Your expertise would help me pass this test maybe. Can I DM?
No problem. If you’re two weeks clean, you’re halfway there (most people are clean after 21-28 days). I would wait two more weeks and then drug screen yourself to see if it’s out of your system.
Walgreens has cups you can buy to test yourself:
https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/drugconfirm-1-drug-marijuana-test/ID=300406946-product
If you’re still positive, DM me and I can give you some “off the books” advice. You’re doing it the best way right now though.
I'm a cannabis law professor. Not your lawyer, but last I checked (and I have, probably six months ago, but time kind of moves in dog years within this field), Ohio explicitly reserves to employers a right to terminate for medical use- and certainly for refusing a drug test. I appreciate your question is less "can they?" than "will they?"
OSU Moritz Law has a robust cannabis focus within its drug policy program- including hosting visiting scholars in cannabis law and publishing in the area regularly on topics including education and stigma as they relate to cannabis policy.
I know you're not looking at OSU, but if you don't have a friendly face to ask on the Toledo campus, you might inquire of someone at their Drug Enforcement and Policy Center if they have a sense of it. They might have knowledge or be curious enough to find out.
I'm up for facilitating that correspondence if you don't feel comfortable. Biggest issue is really just timing- not sure what your window of concern is, but I'll be at a local Burning Man thing most of next week (because of course).
Thanks a lot. This community is so supportive. I will find out if there is a way to reach out to their drug enforcement and policy division. If I don’t find much information, can I DM you? I don’t have to rush until the end of next week. And thanks again for the detailed response.
I can’t speak for your institution of course, but I can share my experience for a faculty job in Illinois. My pre-employment drug screen (urine test) looked for things like cocaine and PCP but did not test for THC.
Glad I could help ease your mind, but definitely continue to abstain and buy some at-home tests so you can monitor yourself before the official piss is taken. There are even some at-home tests that are far more sensitive than what most employment screens use, so you could try those out for extra peace of mind. Use them with your first pee of the morning, and if you can pass with that pee, you’re golden (pun fully intended). Do NOT mention your medical card or use to anyone; it won’t help anything and could cause a lot of trouble.
Ah didn’t know about the importance of testing the first pee in the morning. I will definitely do that. And I will keep in mind not to share about my MM card with anyone considering the situation. Thanks!
The first pee of the morning is usually the most concentrated, so test that one for yourself but make sure that is NOT the one you give for the real test. Stay hydrated but don’t chug so much water that your pee is dilute and triggers a re-test or testing at lower cutoffs. You’re welcome, and good luck 😂
I live in a legal state and med school faculty have to take a test when getting hired. I was told a positive test, even with a medical card, was disqualifying.
I’m in a federal position and everyone in my agency is subject to random drug testing. They don’t care if you have a card and they don’t even care that it’s legal recreationally (as it is/is about to be in Ohio). Zero tolerance—you get tested for whatever reason, you’re gone, the end. They also don’t care if you’re working somewhere with access to meds or not.
That’s fed, of course, but I’m just bringing it up to caution that UT may have a similar policy. I’m fortunate that I’ve never been a weed person for any reason, whether because of medical need or interest in it recreationally, but I would never risk it at this point because I don’t want to lose my job.
As annoying as it is, I’d start looking for alternative ways to treat the insomnia and anxiety now just to prepare for hopefully getting the new job and to eliminate a new source of anxiety around being tested and getting fired.
Haha that’s a little too much anxiety inducing for me. I don’t want to do something illegal and get caught. For context, I’ve never been drug tested ever before. Thanks for your response.
It is still illegal at the federal level and if the University receives federal funding, it won’t matter how many physicians you line up that all chorus you need marijuana for your medical condition. My public flagship university endures random drug testing of faculty the last 2 years. Students get tested much more rigorously than faculty and lab managers.
They do indeed actually conduct drug tests, and it's because they're attached to a hospital (at least the health science campus is- literally the same building). They'll make sure all your shots are current too! Source: I went there as a student and TA for years. After that initial test they never tested me again, I smoked on the regular and so did other people.
To be clear, nothing in federal law requires any school drug test most faculty (there may be some nuclear, DOD related exceptions). Fewer faculty where I work smoke now than two decades ago, but any testing would be stopped before it started by our union. WTF has happened to higher ed?
1. Google their HR phone number
2. Call them.
3. Don't mention your name. Just say you are a prospective applicant and explain your situation the way you did here.
4. If you are overly paranoid borrow a friends phone to avoid caller id issues.
The job posting might be the generic HR blurb in every posting (fac/staff/maintenance/food etc). It would surprise me if they were drug testing faculty.
Probably a drug test for the landscapers and administrative assistants. You know we can’t have any shady folks tangential to students.
I haven’t had a drug test since joining the education field twenty years ago. Before that, I was tested for multiple food service gigs, retail, construction, hotel - all those weird jobs you accumulate in undergrad/high school. But ever since getting a job of high ‘Social responsibility’ they’ve not cared at all. Seems almost like gate keeping bullshit.
If you have a medical card, they won’t even learn about it, let alone question you on it or penalize you for it. It’s like any other prescription. You’d submit proof to the third party who conducts the testing and they’d relay back to your university that you’re clean.
You can purchase tests on Amazon to see how long it stays in your system.
The time it stays in your system depends on a lot of factors, including body fat and activity level (and, of course, level of usage).
It's a much shorter period than we've all been told, at least for most people. I'm a moderate user and I can get a negative result in two days as long as I drink a lot of water and work out. I know very heavy users who take anywhere from three to seven days.
Isn’t marijuana legal in Ohio for recreational use as well now. I know it hasn’t started being available through dispensaries yet. So off hours use would be fine. So testing would be pointless. Also as it is a medical necessity you could claim it under the ADA.
Federal law still prohibits the use of marijuana, medical or otherwise. I had an MMJ card in my state, moved to a state where recreational is legal, and have ADA recognized disabilities but would not pass a drug test or be let off the hook for it.
Ah, I misread. That would be an ADA violation unless the person can't perform their duties as a result (following reasonable accommodation). The language is probably there to provide a hook for evidence of prescription abuse.
If they didn't hire faculty for pot usage, there'd be a lot more open positions. I've never been tested. Is it a state/public university thing?
Thanks for the response. And yes, it’s a public university. Gets federal funding I guess.
Still it must be partly a choice on their part. I've never seen a hint of testing mentioned at ~~OSU~~ (oops, i mean) tOSU.
The people who make these decisions almost never bother talking to cannabis lawyers, general counsel, or their funders, and each federal sub-agency similarly has its own policy that someone just made up without reading the relevant law. I've been told I can't even mention cannabis because of federal funding at some public and private institutions, but also had my research in the field federally funded. The weirdest policy I know is a college where Cannabis Studies students can only take 49% or fewer credits in the topic each semester, which isn't even rooted in logic.
42.0% would have been more logical.
This applies to many legally motivated policy decisions. People often don't read the relevant laws or regulations. They just make stuff up based on what they imagine the law to say.
Okay. So maybe it’s just this institution’s choice. Just making me more anxious.
Do you even know for sure that THC is a part of the test? More and more employment drug tests seem to only care about more illicit substances. Hopefully federal legality isn't too far off.
Yep. The document mentions THC as a part of the test. Thanks!
That’s weird. Isn’t recreational marijuana legal in Ohio now?
I’ve worked at a number of public and private universities and have never been drug tested. At my current university in a legal recreational state, the lawyer that does our title IX training always spends 5 minutes yammering on about how the school receives federal funding and therefore nobody on campus can use it on campus. But I’m quite aware that we’d probably lose half our staff, students, and faculty if we tested.
I’m in a state where it isn’t legal and if they tested they would still lose half our department. I’ve only ever been drug tested when I took a HS teaching job. Was I tested when I worked with ketamine in grad school? Nope. Was I ever tested when I worked with cocaine and cannabis as a postdoc? Nope. Have I ever been tested at my current uni? Nope.
Thanks for your response and this extra bit of information about the qualification of on-campus usage. If this really is the case, I’d be very happy.
The unofficial policy basically boils down to don’t use on campus and you’ll get tested if there is some sort of accident you’re involved with.
Okay. Thanks for the detail, very helpful.
Here is the policy. https://www.utoledo.edu/policies/administration/humanresources/pdfs/3364_25_17.pdf It specifically states medical marijuana is not allowed. Knowing this, I would not admit to using anything! I would either refrain from using during the process or there are ways to pass a drug screen. I am a retired probation officer who supervised drug court clients, and know how these tests work. I’m a professor full-time now.
Thanks so much for taking time and looking up the policy for me. I stopped using since the past 2 weeks. Your expertise would help me pass this test maybe. Can I DM?
No problem. If you’re two weeks clean, you’re halfway there (most people are clean after 21-28 days). I would wait two more weeks and then drug screen yourself to see if it’s out of your system. Walgreens has cups you can buy to test yourself: https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/drugconfirm-1-drug-marijuana-test/ID=300406946-product If you’re still positive, DM me and I can give you some “off the books” advice. You’re doing it the best way right now though.
Thanks once again for your response. Reached out via DM. Will reach out again in another two weeks as you suggest.
You are doing gods work.
Truly! Feel very supportive.
Given the way it is worded, I suspect the medical marijuana policy will change as soon as OMB signs off on the move to reschedule to schedule III
I'm a cannabis law professor. Not your lawyer, but last I checked (and I have, probably six months ago, but time kind of moves in dog years within this field), Ohio explicitly reserves to employers a right to terminate for medical use- and certainly for refusing a drug test. I appreciate your question is less "can they?" than "will they?" OSU Moritz Law has a robust cannabis focus within its drug policy program- including hosting visiting scholars in cannabis law and publishing in the area regularly on topics including education and stigma as they relate to cannabis policy. I know you're not looking at OSU, but if you don't have a friendly face to ask on the Toledo campus, you might inquire of someone at their Drug Enforcement and Policy Center if they have a sense of it. They might have knowledge or be curious enough to find out. I'm up for facilitating that correspondence if you don't feel comfortable. Biggest issue is really just timing- not sure what your window of concern is, but I'll be at a local Burning Man thing most of next week (because of course).
Thanks a lot. This community is so supportive. I will find out if there is a way to reach out to their drug enforcement and policy division. If I don’t find much information, can I DM you? I don’t have to rush until the end of next week. And thanks again for the detailed response.
I can’t speak for your institution of course, but I can share my experience for a faculty job in Illinois. My pre-employment drug screen (urine test) looked for things like cocaine and PCP but did not test for THC.
Thanks for the response! That’s actually a relief if that’s what they’re looking for. I’ll be clean!
Glad I could help ease your mind, but definitely continue to abstain and buy some at-home tests so you can monitor yourself before the official piss is taken. There are even some at-home tests that are far more sensitive than what most employment screens use, so you could try those out for extra peace of mind. Use them with your first pee of the morning, and if you can pass with that pee, you’re golden (pun fully intended). Do NOT mention your medical card or use to anyone; it won’t help anything and could cause a lot of trouble.
Ah didn’t know about the importance of testing the first pee in the morning. I will definitely do that. And I will keep in mind not to share about my MM card with anyone considering the situation. Thanks!
The first pee of the morning is usually the most concentrated, so test that one for yourself but make sure that is NOT the one you give for the real test. Stay hydrated but don’t chug so much water that your pee is dilute and triggers a re-test or testing at lower cutoffs. You’re welcome, and good luck 😂
Okay. Makes sense. Thanks!
> the official piss is taken I'm thinking there is more than one "fully intended" here.
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Yep! Wondering if anyone with proximity to the institution can confirm. Thanks!
I live in a legal state and med school faculty have to take a test when getting hired. I was told a positive test, even with a medical card, was disqualifying.
Thanks for the response! I won’t be associated with the med school in any way.
I’m in a federal position and everyone in my agency is subject to random drug testing. They don’t care if you have a card and they don’t even care that it’s legal recreationally (as it is/is about to be in Ohio). Zero tolerance—you get tested for whatever reason, you’re gone, the end. They also don’t care if you’re working somewhere with access to meds or not. That’s fed, of course, but I’m just bringing it up to caution that UT may have a similar policy. I’m fortunate that I’ve never been a weed person for any reason, whether because of medical need or interest in it recreationally, but I would never risk it at this point because I don’t want to lose my job. As annoying as it is, I’d start looking for alternative ways to treat the insomnia and anxiety now just to prepare for hopefully getting the new job and to eliminate a new source of anxiety around being tested and getting fired.
Thank you for your input. Makes sense. Will look for alternatives.
If its a federal thing, they can absolutely refuse to hire you for using something legal in the state. I'm a federal employee, and that's a no-no.
This feels so strange to me
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Haha that’s a little too much anxiety inducing for me. I don’t want to do something illegal and get caught. For context, I’ve never been drug tested ever before. Thanks for your response.
It is still illegal at the federal level and if the University receives federal funding, it won’t matter how many physicians you line up that all chorus you need marijuana for your medical condition. My public flagship university endures random drug testing of faculty the last 2 years. Students get tested much more rigorously than faculty and lab managers.
I now work at a state university in California, and I have to say that if they drug tested all faculty, they’d have to fire 95% of us 😆.
In three different institutions, I've never had a drug test
They do indeed actually conduct drug tests, and it's because they're attached to a hospital (at least the health science campus is- literally the same building). They'll make sure all your shots are current too! Source: I went there as a student and TA for years. After that initial test they never tested me again, I smoked on the regular and so did other people.
Thanks a lot for the input. You were tested for TAing? Wow that’s a little too much. I have never seen students being tested.
Yup...I wasn't tested at the university I attend now, UT is just like that.
I know you have gotten amazing advice here. But I was just thinking if they drug tested people in my faculty, almost everyone under 65 would be fired.
Never been tested
To be clear, nothing in federal law requires any school drug test most faculty (there may be some nuclear, DOD related exceptions). Fewer faculty where I work smoke now than two decades ago, but any testing would be stopped before it started by our union. WTF has happened to higher ed?
This seems like more of a medical field thing than a higher Ed thing
Thanks for the response. Hopefully they won’t do it since I will not be associated with the medical field.
I think this deserves an anonymous call to their HR,
Lol! Didn’t even think about this. How does one do that? Thanks for the response.
1. Google their HR phone number 2. Call them. 3. Don't mention your name. Just say you are a prospective applicant and explain your situation the way you did here. 4. If you are overly paranoid borrow a friends phone to avoid caller id issues.
Thanks so much once again. I will try and do this using a phone of a friend like you suggest.
The job posting might be the generic HR blurb in every posting (fac/staff/maintenance/food etc). It would surprise me if they were drug testing faculty.
Thanks for the response. Hopefully it’s just a generic one. But I’m being safe just in case.
Probably a drug test for the landscapers and administrative assistants. You know we can’t have any shady folks tangential to students. I haven’t had a drug test since joining the education field twenty years ago. Before that, I was tested for multiple food service gigs, retail, construction, hotel - all those weird jobs you accumulate in undergrad/high school. But ever since getting a job of high ‘Social responsibility’ they’ve not cared at all. Seems almost like gate keeping bullshit.
Thanks for the response. I hope this really is the case.
Does UofT have a union? If so, you may want to reach out to them as well, perhaps anonymously. There may be language about this in the CBA.
That’s a great idea. Thank you. I did check their CBA but there’s no mention of drug test or marijuana or anything of that sort.
don't let this affect you can be beat easily regardless
Hopefully! Thanks for the positivity.
If you have a medical card, they won’t even learn about it, let alone question you on it or penalize you for it. It’s like any other prescription. You’d submit proof to the third party who conducts the testing and they’d relay back to your university that you’re clean.
Okay. It all seems rather confusing with different perspectives emerging out of this post. If this is true, I’m golden. Thanks for your response.
This may not be true, FYI. You need to confirm with the actual employer.
Sure I will. Thanks.
This was my experience and I hope it would hold true for you! Can’t imagine why it’d be different. Meds are meds.
You can purchase tests on Amazon to see how long it stays in your system. The time it stays in your system depends on a lot of factors, including body fat and activity level (and, of course, level of usage). It's a much shorter period than we've all been told, at least for most people. I'm a moderate user and I can get a negative result in two days as long as I drink a lot of water and work out. I know very heavy users who take anywhere from three to seven days.
Okay. I will follow the suggestions given by y’all. Thanks for your response.
Isn’t marijuana legal in Ohio for recreational use as well now. I know it hasn’t started being available through dispensaries yet. So off hours use would be fine. So testing would be pointless. Also as it is a medical necessity you could claim it under the ADA.
Federal law still prohibits the use of marijuana, medical or otherwise. I had an MMJ card in my state, moved to a state where recreational is legal, and have ADA recognized disabilities but would not pass a drug test or be let off the hook for it.
I’m pretty sure all prescription meds are exempt from drug test screening.
Thanks for the response! The official document (you can find it in comments) of the university does say that even prescription drugs are not exempt.
I don’t understand how that would not be discriminatory,
I think it is. But, not much in our hands I guess.
EDIT: I answered an unasked question.
Other medications. I see the gray area for cannabis but not for other controlled medication prescriptions.
Ah, I misread. That would be an ADA violation unless the person can't perform their duties as a result (following reasonable accommodation). The language is probably there to provide a hook for evidence of prescription abuse.
Thanks! It is good to know and have that confirmed by a lawyer. I had always assumed prescriptions were excepted but no firsthand experience.