Although it is legal for someone to use Marijuana in California if they have a prescription, it is not legal for the driver of a commercial motor vehicle to test positive for the drug. The Department of Transportation is a federal agency, and federal regulations supersede state laws.
When an employer receives the results of a drug test and the test is positive for Marijuana, the tested driver must be immediately removed from any safety-sensitive functions and cannot return to performing them until after the review by a Substance Abuse Professional and a Return-To-Duty negative drug test.
When the laboratory reports the positive Marijuana drug test to the Medical Review Officer, the MRO contacts the donor by telephone. At that time, if the donor says that he has a legal prescription for Marijuana, the MRO will inform him or her that they have failed the drug test and cannot perform a safety-sensitive function until they have stopped using Marijuana.
The MRO will report the drug test as positive for Marijuana to the employer. Before the driver can be employed in a safety-sensitive position again, they will need to follow the D.O.T. protocol which is as follows:
- The driver will need to be evaulated by a Substance Abuse professional.
- The driver will have to complete a Return-to-duty drug test with a negative test result.
- The driver will be subject to no less than six follow-up tests in the next twelve months.
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