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West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed into law March 28, 2014 an amendment to the West Virginia Code requiring mandatory employer reporting to the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training (“OMHST”) whenever an applicant or employee, working in a safety-sensitive mining position, tests positive on a drug or alcohol test or…

A bill introduced February 18, 2014 in the U.S. House of Representatives would require registered manufacturers and distributors of controlled substances identified under the Controlled Substances Act to perform criminal background checks and drug testing for employees with access to controlled substances.

The measure, “Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2013” (H.R.…

Last year New York became the first state to enact a law mandating that doctors and pharmacists track patients’ prescription medication history.  The tracking system, known as I-STOP – Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing – went into full effect on August 27, 2013, and now requires doctors to consult a database of a patient’s prescription…

The U.S. Department of Justice announced August 29, 2013 that it will not challenge state laws recently enacted in Colorado and Washington State legalizing marijuana, as long as those laws do not conflict with certain federal enforcement priorities.  A memorandum to all United States Attorneys across the country from Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole…

Washington State’s U.S. Senators, along with five members of the state’s delegation to the House of Representatives, all Democrats, have requested U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to announce the federal government’s position on Washington State’s and Colorado’s legalization of marijuana as soon as possible.  In a letter to Mr. Holder dated June 17, 2013, the…

Flunking a pre-employment drug test could cause South Carolina job applicants to lose unemployment benefits as well as being denied a job.

South Carolina legislators are voting on a bill allowing employers who administer pre-employment drug tests to report to state unemployment officials applicants who test positive for illegal drugs or drugs used unlawfully.  Unemployment…