b'LEGISLATIVE REPORT:MARIJUANA POLICY LEGISLATIVELIBERALIZATION in the States Poses Di iculties for PVA Vessel Operators ED WELCH // PVA LEGISLATIVE DIRECTORT hedivergenceovermarijuanapolicyContrastthisunyieldingandunchangingMinnesota, and Louisiana are included in this between the federal government andfederal position with that of numerous states.group.manystategovernmentsisgettingBymid-summer,17states,theDistrictofOnly 14 states prohibit both recreational and wider.That puts members of the PassengerColumbia, and Guam will have laws that allowmedical use of marijuana, and even a couple of VesselAssociationinanuncomfortableboth recreational and medical use of marijuana.them have decriminalized pot.spot when it comes to their employees andThese states are clustered in the West, much customers.of the East (most of the states from VirginiaThe result of this hodgepodge of policies is north), plus Illinois and Michigan.So far thisthatmostPVAvesseloperatorsdobusiness The federal governments approach remainsyear,NewYork,Virginia,andNewMexicoin a jurisdiction in which marijuana is readily unchanged:the possession, sale, and use ofhave moved into this group of states. available, a signifi cant portion of citizens may marijuanaandcannabis(includingedibleuse it, and where the old societal taboos against products) is illegal. Marijuana is classifi edIn an additional 13 states, plus the U.S. Virgincannabis have been or are being swept away.by the federal Controlled Substances Act ofIslands,personaluseofmarijuanahasbeen 1970asaScheduleIcontrolledsubstance. decriminalized.ThatmeansthattheevenDespitetheculturalshiftinthestates,the Transportation workers, including passengerthough marijuana use is against the law, thefederalgovernmentspolicyhasremained vesselcrewmembers,aresubjecttopre- penalty (assuming that it is even invoked) forsteadfast.Asaresult,passengervessel employment,periodic,random,andfor- having personal-use amounts of weed usuallyoperatorswillfaceincreaseddifficultyin cause drug testing.A crew member who testsconsists of a modest fi ne. identifying potential crew members who can positive for marijuana can no longer work onpass the required drug tests.In a meeting in a vessel unless he or she successfully completesEven more states (16), plus Puerto Rico, allowAlbany in late April, PVA members swapped an extensive rehabilitation process. medical marijuana in some form or fashion.their feelings of apprehension as to how their ThestatesofFlorida,Ohio,Pennsylvania,states recent legalization will impair the pool of applicants for employment.UntilsuchtimeasCongressandthe Administration agree to change the Controlled Is ElectricSubstancesAct,theU.S.CoastGuardcan do nothing to change the situation.During Right Forthe May 4 meeting of the PVA-Coast Guard QualityPartnership,PVAleadersimpressed You? upontheCoastGuardtheincreasingly untenable position in which PVA employersnd themselves.The PVA participants did not fiexpect relief from the Coast Guard, nor did they receive any, because the services hands are fi guratively tied.In recent weeks, the Coast Guard announced thattherandomdrugtestingrateforvessel Lets talk about it employees in calendar 2021 will remain at 50 percent.This is because the rate of positive tests in 2020 exceeded one percent.Torqeedo Inc. T +1 (815) 444 8806171 Erick Street, Unit A - 1 usa@torqeedo.comCrystal Lake, IL 60014 www.torqeedo.comLEGISLATIVE REPORT 24 FOGHORN'