The Northern Mariana Islands’ House of Representatives have overwhelming approved a bill to end pre-employment cannabis testing for most government jobs.
Filed by Representative Diego Vincent Camacho, the legislation was passed by a 17 to 1 vote in the House, sending it to the Senate for consideration. The move comes around five years after the US territory legalized recreational marijuana, the first to do so in the US via the legislative and not the initiative process.
The proposed law would make it so that government agencies would no longer be allowed to test potential employers for THC, one of the main compounds found in marijuana. The change would apply to most all government positions, but would not apply to jobs where transportation or a firearm is involved.
The law tasks the Office of Personnel Management with determining which positions would not qualify under the new law.
“Government employers do not prohibit employees or applicants from engaging in off-duty legalized alcohol use. Such employers should do the same with marijuana use”, states the text of the bill.
If the proposal is passed by the Senate it will be sent to Governor Arnold Palacios for consideration. Although Governor Palacios could veto the bill, the legislature can override a veto with a 2/3rds majority
