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Drug testing for govt employees
Dear Mr. Duponcheel: As you know, when I testified at your confirmation hearing on Tinian, I recommended it was time to change the drug testing rules and regulations for government employment, and the majority of the Tinian Legislative Delegation agreed.
Cannabis has been effectively decriminalized by the new cannabis law. With new administrations taking office on Saipan, Tinian, and the Northern Islands in the very near future, many existing positions will be filled by new employees. As it stands today, each will be required to take a drug test and if they test positive for cannabis, they will not only be refused employment but also be labeled with the stigma of breaking CNMI law. This is wrong.
I am hoping you will address this issue at your next Cannabis Commission meeting and recommend to the CNMI Legislature that the administrative procedures be amended to reflect the intent of the new law, removing cannabis from the list of illegal drugs identified for pre-employment testing.
Thank you, and we all wish you and the rest of the commission the best as you establish the new rules and regulations decriminalizing cannabis in the CNMI.
Don Farrell
Marpo Heights, Tinian
