Pubdate: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 Source: Florida Today (Melbourne, FL) Copyright: 2014 Florida Today Contact: http://www.floridatoday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/532 Author: Joel McPherson USING MEDICAL POT WON'T PREVENT EMPLOYMENT The writer of the recent letter, "Will job seekers using medical pot be rejected?" claims that if Amendment 2 passes, "many job seekers will fail" employer drug testing. Not true. Florida Statute 440.102 governs employment drug testing and protects people who use drugs for legitimate medical reasons. If there's a "positive" test result, the lab hands the test results to a medical review officer (MRO), a licensed physician who is responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results generated by an employer's drug testing program and evaluating medical explanations for those results. The MRO meets in person with the individual rendering a positive test sample to evaluate reasons for finding prohibited substances. Many medications contain drugs sought in drug testing. If the MRO finds prescriptions or proper explanation for these substances, the employer is given a "negative" test result for that sample. Test results are not given to the employer before MRO review. Employers may not ask about test results before the MRO review. If the MRO is satisfied with the explanation, the test is reported as "negative" and the employer receives no additional information. "Unemployable marijuana users," referenced in the letter, cannot refer to users of medical marijuana as described in proposed Amendment 2. Joel McPherson Merritt Island - --- MAP posted-by: Matt