Home Depot is planning to update its employee drug testing policies in September to remove cannabis screenings, and will stop pre-employment drug testing for most new workers, Marijuana Moment reports.
The policy change was first discussed publicly on the social media platform Reddit, where users on the r/HomeDepot online forum — a self-described “hangout for Home Depot associates” — said they had learned of the pending change from their management. The report confirmed the policy change via a human resources memo from the company.
Moving forward, Home Depot will only conduct pre-employment drug testing “for external candidates with contingent offers in Asset Protection and Corporate Security,” the memo said.
Home Depot — the sixth-largest employer in the U.S. — was not the first major jobs creator to reconsider its cannabis drug screening policies. In 2021, Amazon — the second-largest employer in the U.S. — announced the company would cease its drug screenings for cannabis. Additionally, Amazon announced it would begin lobbying for the federal legalization of adult-use cannabis.
President Joe Biden (D) this year called on his administration to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The move would not federally legalize cannabis but would reduce restrictions on the plant, improving access for research purposes and providing much-needed tax relief to state-legal industries.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said this week it has scheduled a hearing for the rescheduling action for December 2.
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