Amazon releases update on the company's drug testing guidelines
The company no longer wants to test employees for cannabis.

Amazon released a new statement explaining its decision to end drug testing as a condition of hiring employees, as well as its support for certain cannabis laws.
On a September 21 blog post, Beth Galetti, Amazon's senior vice president of human resources, wrote about the company's ongoing plan to support legalization. In the update, Galetti revealed Amazon's commitment to cannabis, including restoring "employability to former employees and applicants previously terminated or deferred from random or pre-hiring marijuana screenings".
In addition, Galetti explains this decision with three insights. First, with rapid legalization across the country, "it has become difficult to establish a fair, consistent, national program for pre-employment marijuana testing." Second, she found that pre-hiring cannabis tests primarily target people of color. Finally, she acknowledged that with Amazon's continued growth in hiring new employees, "eliminating pre-hire testing for cannabis allows us to expand our pool of applicants."
Galletti's statement includes a clear clarification on the topic of cannabis on Amazon compared to previous announcements. On June 1, the company posted a blog post about its goal of becoming both Earth's Best Employer and Earth's Safest Place to Work. In that announcement, it confirmed that it would adjust its drug testing policy. "We will no longer include marijuana in our comprehensive drug screening program for any position that is not regulated by the Department of Transportation and will instead treat it the same as alcohol," the company wrote.
In June, the company also announced that it would "actively support" the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2021, also known as the MORE Act. Now, Galetti also mentioned the company's recent support for the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act.
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, Senator Ron Wyden, and Senator Cory Booker on Sept. 1, Brian Huseman, Amazon's Vice President of Public Policy, wrote about how eager the company is to work with them and other lawmakers to help ensure that the law is passed.
"The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act makes a number of important changes that we support. First, we support the exemption of cannabis from the Controlled Substance Act. This will open up new economic opportunities for millions of able people while at the same time redressing some of the damage. which arose in badly affected communities. "
Huseman also called on Congress to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and lay off more people whose lives have been negatively impacted by the war on drugs. "For too long, marijuana criminal law has been applied unequally to people of color, resulting in excessive incarceration, poverty, health problems and other barriers to economic opportunity," he wrote.
"We believe there is a need to eradicate these crimes that our society has carried on the shoulders of the black population. And as the nation's second largest employer, we support the erasure of crimes to ensure that all capable people have a fair chance to find and secure a job wherever they want. Finally, we support grants for community reinvestment, which can have a positive effect on the pursuit of social justice. "
Huseman openly states in his letter that the company has no opinion on any particular view of the industry, including "regulation, permits, taxation and interstate trade".
Galetti ended her September 21 letter with a hopeful outlook for the future of cannabis for employees and for the citizens of the United States at large. "We are thrilled with the remarkable momentum in the country aimed at recognizing that today's status quo is unfair and unsustainable. We look forward to working with Congress and other supporters to bring about the necessary reform of national cannabis laws "she concluded.
Amazon's recent ambitions to aid those affected by the war on drugs and to give them political support continues to present an opportunity for the ongoing fight for cannabis legalization. Although recent reports raise the question of what type of Participation Amazon could plan for the future.





