Amazon backs US bill to legalise marijuana

SAN FRANCISCO: Amazon is backing a US bill that would legalise marijuana nationwide and will drop a requirement that recruits undergo testing for the drug, the e-commerce giant said.

A growing number of US states have moved to legalise the drug, although it remains prohibited at the federal level.

“We hope other employers will join us and that politicians move quickly to pass this law,” Dave Clark, head of global operations, said in a blog post on Tuesday.

“In the past, like many employers, we have disqualified people from positions at Amazon if they tested positive for marijuana use,” he added.

“But given the evolution of laws in different states of the country, we will no longer include marijuana in our extensive drug testing programs.”

Instead, as with alcohol, workers will only be made to undergo testing in the event of an incident.

Civil groups and elected officials have said that bans on cannabis disproportionately affect Black and Latino communities.

New York’s state governor signed a law in March allowing for recreational marijuana, joining 14 other American states in the move to legalisation.