A powerful congressional committee has released a report that urges federal agencies to reconsider policies that result in the firing of employees who use marijuana legally in accordance with state law. The House Appropriations Committee is set to take up the related spending legislation on Tuesday, which separately includes a provision to provide protections for banks that work with state-legal cannabis businesses and notably excludes a longstanding rider that has blocked Washington, D.C. from legalizing marijuana sales. The employment language isn’t a part of the appropriations bill itself, but the directive included in the attached report expressing the views of the committee voiced support for a recent Office of Personnel Management (OPM) memo to federal agencies that says admitting to past marijuana use should not automatically disqualify people from being employed in the federal government. “The Committee supports the updated guidance on agencies’ consideration of how an individual’s marijuana use may or may not adversely affect the integrity or efficiency of the government and impact an individual’s suitability or fitness for a position,” the report attached to the annual Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) spending bill states.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 06/29/2021 12:40:00