"NOOOO, I DON'T SMOKE ANYTHING"

The new laws in marijuana around the country have shed a new light on this next incident.  Maybe the individual would have received the job if he was in Colorado, but in Kansas there was no way. 

After 30 years of  outpatient physical therapy I needed a change in scenery.  I transferred to an industrial rehabilitation clinic.  In this clinic the focus was on the working individual, such as workers compensation.  We also administered post offer physical ability testing for many companies.  Post offer testing* is administered after the job offer is made, but the individual must pass this testing to be employed.  So, it is part of the hiring process.
The individual, let me call him Mark, was being tested for a position in a warehouse.  He would be handling a forklift and other motorized equipment as well as lifting heavy amounts manually.  He needed to be physically strong, mentally alert and stable on his feet.

The physical therapy tech in the clinic performed the initial intake of this client, involving some paperwork and a brief history.  I noticed a peculiar expression on the tech's face when she walked over to me to discuss the client. 
"I think Mark is high.  He smells of marijuana."  she stated.

At this point, I felt it was time for me to assess the situation.
"Hi Mark, I am Becky, the physical therapist.  I have a few questions.  Do you smoke?"  I asked.

"Noooo,  I don't smoke."  He replied, shaking his head.

"Do you smoke anything?"  I asked again.

"Noooo, I don't smoke anything."  He replied again.

"Well", I stated, " you smell of marijuana".

"Oh", he replied, "the guy that drove me here was smoking."

With a tilt of my head and questioning look I replied, "He was smoking marijuana?"

And then boom, it was like a V8 tap on the head, and Mark remembered that smoking marijuana is illegal in Kansas.  He began a bit of a stutter and stated, "well uh,  not maijuana, uh, you know that stuff that smells like marijuana."

Hmmmm, not sure what the smell alike stuff is called.  But considering that I had no direct evidence of marijuana smoking, other than my intuition and my very good sense of smell , I proceeded with the testing.  At one point in the test, he was required to maintain the squatting position while performing a task with his hands.  While doing this activity,  Mark just rolled over on to the floor to his side, in a bit of a haze, unable to maintain the position, and began laughing a bit.  
Busted. I guess my sense of smell and intuition did not let me down.

Obviously, Mark was not recommended for the job at the warehouse, due to being unstable on his feet and not being mentally alert.  However the underlying reason for not being recommended was just plain stupidity.

The lesson learned from Mark is to not smoke marijuana before you do a post offer test for a job, in Kansas and I might even venture to say, in Colorado as well.