Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a number of marijuana-related bills into law, including legislation protecting employees from workplace discrimination.

Specifically, Assembly Bill 2188, makes “it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment, or otherwise penalize a person, if the discrimination is based upon the person’s use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace” as determined by a positive drug screen for the presence of the carboxy THC metabolite. Carboxy THC is an inactive byproduct of THC that may be present in a urine sample for as many as 100 days post-abstinence. As per the United States Department of Justice, the detection of this metabolite “only indicates that a particular substance is present in the test subject’s body tissue. It does not indicate abuse or addiction; recency, frequency, or amount of use; or impairment.”

The law, which does not go into effect until January 1, 2024, is similar to those already enacted in several other adult-use states, including Connecticut, Montana, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. Nevada law makes it “unlawful for any employer in to fail or refuse to hire a prospective employee” based upon a marijuana test failure; nonetheless, employees who consume cannabis off-the-job for non-medical purposes can still be fired by their employers for failing a drug test.

“Urine tests are a highly offensive invasion of workers’ personal...

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