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On September 21, Amazon disclosed that its earlier decision to end drug testing for cannabis also would be retroactive, allowing former employees and applicants penalized for testing positive for cannabis will have their eligibility restored and reconsidered.

Initially in June, Amazon’s position to end marijuana drug testing was widely celebrated but only mentioned future policy. However, the policy was recently clarified by Amazon’s senior vice president of human resources Beth Galetti, who said it also “reinstated the employment eligibility for former employees and applicants who were previously terminated or deferred during random or pre-employment marijuana screenings.” It is Amazon’s position that the state-level legalization movement has made it “difficult to implement an equitable, consistent and national pre-employment marijuana test program, showing it disproportionately impacts people of color and acts as a barrier to employment.”