Your complete guide to cannabis in cannabis culture Official Emily Post data · No product sales · TryCannabis.org

Cannabis and Job Interviews

California’s SB 700 prohibits employers from asking about past cannabis use. Other states don’t. What to do if you’re asked anyway — and how to learn a company’s policy before you’re hired.

Last verified: April 2026

California’s SB 700

California’s SB 700, enacted in 2023, is the only state statute to explicitly prohibit employers from asking job applicants about their past cannabis use. Under SB 700, a California employer asking “have you ever used marijuana” during a job interview is committing a statutory violation. The law is intended to line up with AB 2188’s prohibition on relying on old-style metabolite testing: if you can’t test for past use, the reasoning goes, you shouldn’t be able to interview for it either.

SB 700 contains the expected carve-outs: construction workers in the building trades, federal contractors, and positions requiring federal background checks or security clearances. Those employers can still ask.

What Other States Allow

Outside California, the interview landscape is a patchwork. The eight other states with off-duty cannabis protections (Connecticut, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, Montana, Rhode Island, Washington) generally protect against adverse action based on lawful off-duty use — but most of them do not separately prohibit the question itself the way SB 700 does. An interviewer in those states may still ask; the applicant has no specific statutory right to refuse.

In states without off-duty protections, employers can ask whatever they want about cannabis, refuse to hire based on the answer, and require pre-employment testing as a condition of an offer.

If You’re Asked Anyway

In California, the honest answer is often simply: “I don’t believe that’s a question you’re permitted to ask under SB 700. Is there something about my qualifications I can help clarify?” Most HR professionals will immediately drop the question; most hiring managers didn’t know the law and will pivot cleanly.

In other states, your options depend on how much you want the job and how much risk you want to take:

  • Honest answer. Some candidates in tech, creative fields, and cannabis-forward industries say flatly that they consume off-duty, and move on. In the right environment this is low-risk.
  • Deflect. “I understand cannabis is legal in this state and treat my off-duty time carefully. I don’t bring work into my personal life or vice versa.” Professional, non-denying, non-admitting.
  • Decline to answer. “I’d rather keep my personal life separate from the hiring process. I’m happy to take any required pre-employment screen.”
  • Ask the reverse question. “Is there a current drug-testing policy I should be aware of? I’d like to understand the expectation.” Flips the dynamic, gets you useful information.

Lying on a direct question is a worse trap than most applicants realize. If the company later discovers the answer was false — through a post-accident test, a reasonable-suspicion event, or a background-check inconsistency — that’s grounds for termination regardless of state off-duty protections, because the termination is for dishonesty, not cannabis use.

Learning a Company’s Policy Before You Accept

The best time to find out about a drug-testing regime is before you’ve turned down other offers. Questions that are universally acceptable to ask an HR contact during the final stages of a hiring process:

  • “Can you walk me through any pre-employment screens I should expect?”
  • “What does the company’s drug and alcohol policy say?”
  • “Is there random testing for this role?”
  • “How is the written policy actually enforced in practice?”

Ask them before you sign. Ask them politely. If HR is evasive, that itself is useful information.

Request the written policy

In most states, an applicant has the right to request the written drug-and-alcohol policy before accepting an offer. Most companies will send you the relevant section of the employee handbook on request. Read it. The written policy is what you’ll be held to, not whatever the hiring manager said casually over coffee.

Cannabis Industry Jobs

If you’re interviewing for a job at a licensed cannabis dispensary, brand, cultivator, or ancillary cannabis business, the interview dynamics flip. Past cannabis use is often an asset rather than a liability, product knowledge is relevant, and the culture is generally welcoming. Even so: most licensed cannabis businesses run background checks (state licensing usually requires it), and most ban on-premises consumption during work hours. The two universal workplace rules — don’t consume at work, don’t show up impaired — apply at a dispensary too. See our conferences page for how the industry networks.

If the Offer Includes Pre-Employment Testing

The old-school advice (“drink water, pee a lot, cross your fingers”) was already unreliable and is becoming more so as oral-fluid testing gains adoption. If you’re in a state with off-duty protections, review our off-duty protections page for what your employer can and cannot test for. If you’re not, and the role is one you want, the cleanest answer is still to pause consumption well in advance of the screen.

For in-depth cannabis education, dosing guides, safety information, and research summaries, visit our partner site TryCannabis.org