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Two years after legalizing recreational marijuana, Nevada is telling job seekers: Light 'em up![CR-LF][CR-LF]Starting next year, employers won't be allowed to reject potential job seekers because they failed a test for marijuana use. According to a new law signed this month, an employer can't "fail or refuse to hire a prospective employee because the prospective employee submitted to a screening test and the results of the screening test indicate the presence of marijuana."[CR-LF][CR-LF]The substance remains illegal on the federal level, and is the most commonly detected illicit drug in employment drug testing, according to Quest Diagnostics. Traces of the drug can persist in someone's body for as long as 30 days after the last time they used it, some studies have found.

A positive test for marijuana in pre-employment drug screenings won't be a problem for most people in Nevada, beginning next year.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Nevada became the first state to approve such a drug test law last week, two years after recreational marijuana sales began in the Silver State. The law will not apply to EMTs, firefighters and those who drive vehicles, however. Employers can also reject job applicants for marijuana drug test results if usage can put others' safety at risk.Nationally, about 2.8% of urine-based workplace drug screenings tested positively for marijuana in 2018, according to Quest Diagnostics, a drug-testing service. Marijuana is also the most commonly detected illicit drug, according to the service.

Quest Diagnostics, Secaucus, NJ, has launched three laboratory testing packages for some of the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and is making them available for online purchase by individuals across the continental United States.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The new STD testing packages are the first that any major national laboratory has made available for individuals to order at their discretion. The packages have been designed to meet the needs of individuals who want access to accurate basic or comprehensive STD testing, but are reluctant to engage their healthcare providers directly.

Last fall, Quest Diagnostics, a major drug-and-alcohol-testing provider, dug further into testing results by industry sector. Looking at both random and non-random testing, it found that between 2015 and 2017, the transportation and warehousing sector saw the largest overall increase in positive tests of any sector, in large part due to significant increases in positive tests for cocaine and marijuana. The sector’s overall positivity rate was lower than the majority of other sectors Quest reported on, but the rate of increase is a concern. Year over year, the rate of positive tests for cocaine increased 23% and for marijuana by 33%, Quest reported.

Why do companies use pre-employment drug testing? There are three circumstances in which workers encounter drug tests during the hiring process.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The first is when workers have applied for jobs subject to federally mandated safety testing. Some of those positions are government jobs, such as Customs and Border Patrol agents, while others are in private sector industries such as transportation and nuclear power production. Companies test for drugs using three main specimen types: urine, hair and oral fluid. Each one has different detection windows, advantages and disadvantages.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Urine is the most common sample type, and it's currently the only type permitted by federal testing rules, says Barry Sample, senior director of science and technology at Quest Diagnostics, a clinical laboratory that performs drug testing for employers.