I have two Job Offers and a big problem

So like many other users, I have been searching for a job, and after getting my certificate in React I had two job offers. One job pays a bit more than the other, but the catch is they drug test. I like to smoke after a long day of programming as a way to take the edge off. Marijuna is becoming decriminalized but my recruiter wants me to take the drug test. I live in New York where it is still illegal. So my question, should I tell her the truth that I took a trip to Colorado, or should I attempt to fake it using fake urine? I could always take the first offer as they don’t drug test, but that would be less money.

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Idea 1: use the higher offer to negotiate the other offer up
Idea 2: don’t use fake urine, get it out of your system naturally to pass the test (even if you trust the recruiter, it could go badly if you mentioned your illegal drug use); give an excuse to delay the drug test however long you need (I don’t partake, so I don’t know how long this will be). If they’ve already extended an offer, a delay of a week for a response is not too long to request
Idea 3: move out here to Colorado and work remotely or look for local work, this place is awesome! Not a trump tower in sight.

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Thank you for taking the time. The problem is it takes a month to get out of my system. I don’t think they want to wait a month for me. They’re looking to hire me and have me start working in Feb.

I would suggest the job that doesn’t drug test. Your first job you shouldn’t be concerned with pay too much. Get in and grab the experience. Then later find the ideal company with the right pay & salary.

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The best programmers I ever had the privilege to work with was the biggest stoners in the world. They really think outside the box on things, so its their loss if they are testing for pot.

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You have one job offer and no fake urine. And that’s that. It’s simple, see?

Sometimes, the box… is your friend. Ask those programmers, they know.

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Sometimes, peoples with adhd self medicate with weed, without being diagnosed. They tend to think outside the box anyway, not because of weed.

That said, your issue is trivial, take the job without test… Money will come later.

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If you like to smoke, and don’t want to quit, then the choice is obvious. Do you really want to spend your career worrying about being tested?

If you still want to try for that job, just be (semi) honest. “Hey, I occasionally smoke weed recreationally when I visit my friend in Massachusetts (where it is legal). I don’t do any hard drugs, but is a little weed going to be a problem?” I’d rather deal with it up front about it.

If it really, really, really was a one time thing, then you could try to fake it. But I would not give up on the on the other job. Jobs are too hard to come by (especially when you’re starting out) and even a lower paying job would be a great foot hold.

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I personally think that it is absolutely not their business what I do in my free time.
Its so stupid they ask it. In your situation if I really really want the job, I have no problem using fake urine as they dare to ask for such a test.
And if I wouldnt be so sad that I didnt get the job I would just tell them the truth.
After all, its your choice.

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So I know this is fairly common in the US, but it always seems to me like a company trying to police its employees by asking them to pee in a cup is creepy and intrusive as hell. Unless it’s for industry compliance reasons, I’d be wary about working there for that reason alone.

On another note, assuming that’s your real picture and name, you might want to think about changing your profile information on here, given that you’re admitting to “undesirable” behavior on your part.

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A clean conscience is priceless! Always be honest, lies will pile up on you and way you down, and once they’re there your committed to them. Take the job that doesn’t drug test - the 2nd job that does drug test obviously doesn’t want people who use drugs, you should honor that and be true to yourself. ; )

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I’m with ElitaSue on this. Lying is no way to start a positive relationship. Even if you get away with it, it’ll always be something you have to think about, and you’ll probably never be able fully comfortable being yourself around the people you work with. Go with the company you can be honest with – but let them know you’ve got a better offer from another company and see if they’re willing to come up on their proposed salary. You don’t have to say anything about the testing or whether you’ve already decided not to go with company #1. Good luck! There’s a good 2 part article on using other offers to help you negotiate: https://medium.freecodecamp.org/ten-rules-for-negotiating-a-job-offer-ee17cccbdab6

You never know where your reputation will travel too, so it’s important not to lie. That recruiter could go on to be a recruiter at another company that you work for and you’d cut bridges over a silly lie.

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I think that drug tests are an invasion of privacy IMO. If you can do the job, what’s the difference?

It’s not always that simple. While we all like to wave the privacy and civil liberties flags around, there can be legal implications. What if you write code for a company that dispatches paramedics and a mistake in the code causes a death. What if you code on your companies stock trading app and a mistake causes millions of dollars in losses?

In those cases, you (and possibly the company) could be legally liable. Can you prove that the weed didn’t cause it? Can you prove that you weren’t illegally high when you wrote the code? Or maybe just still a little out of it from the night before?

It could get quite sticky, with criminal and civil liability. I know it’s all unlikely, but a lot of things are “unlikely” … until it happens. There are many tragedies out there where someone callously ignore potential consequences and then acted shocked when the “unthinkable” happens. Similarly, I’ve known many people that would assure me they weren’t drunk and drove away, because they “knew their limits”. A few of them ended up with DUIs. A friend from high school ended up doing some jail time after crippling someone in an accident.

I know this seems extreme. I know we live in a world where everything goes. I know weed smoking is becoming increasingly accepted. (And I happen to agree with that.) But it is not unreasonable for a company to protect itself, testing to see if its employees are engaging in illegal activity that could create a liability. Additionally, there is a lot of evidence that drug and alcohol abuse cost companies a lot of money through absenteeism.

You have no constitutional right to a job on your terms. Pot smokers are not a protected class, protected against discrimination, even where pot smoking is legal. On the cruise ship, we couldn’t even have a blood alcohol level over 0.04% because at any moment we may have to participate in an emergency evacuation. In a clean room where I once worked, men weren’t allowed facial hair and women weren’t allowed makeup because it could cause damage to the clean room environment.

Companies can make reasonable restrictions. If you don’t like them, don’t work for that company. But it is fundamentally dishonest to (even tacitly) agree to the terms of employment and then break them while accepting the money. If you can’t do the job (as they define it) then find a different job.

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I imagine recruiters have heard it all and will automatically assume you’re lying about visiting Colorado and just trying it one time (even if that were the case). I’d take the job that doesn’t drug test. For all you know, the job that does drug test might have random spot checks later.

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which is the case with my current company.
such a nightmare
every wednesday they do a lottery drawing to randomly test employees.
If your test results are positive, leads to immediate termination

This seems like an odd thread but a more than reasonable question. As you’re definitely not the first programmer to smoke weed :smoking: But I agree with the overall consensus. Take the job that does not drug test, and then you won’t have to worry as time goes on.

Besides if you look at what people say about dev jobs, you usually only stay at your first one for a year or 2 and then go to another job where you make more money. In fact lots of people recommend leaving after around 6 to 12 months for a much better paying dev job. So take the one you know that you’ll get (without the test) and in 6 to 12 months re-apply to other jobs and see if you can get more :moneybag:

On a side note Have you thought about getting a medical license for smoking marijuana. For something like say anxiety?? Then you wouldn’t have to worry about getting drug tested, as you would have a legal exemption :smiley:

Just don’t do drugs. Smoking destroys your body, and what’s the point of a job if your spending all the money during retirement trying to fix your drug related injuries.

Drugs hurt your brain, so it’s not going to be very easy to work after a while.

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You make some valid points, but couldn’t the same be said for alcohol?

I am not referencing any other “drugs”. You’re more apt to make a mistake
if you are hungover than high.

I happen to live in CA and a lot of employers are not counting marijuana in drug tests anymore.
Personally, I have a prescription because I am a disabled vet, but I don’t find that it increases
the chances of me making mistakes. You can always do the work and then debug when you
are sober.

For me, it is like an employer asking for your social media passwords. They shouldn’t be
allowed too. It should be about job performance and not what you do in your off-time.
Any employer that wants to get that much into your personal life is probably not a place
that you would want to work anyway.

There are plenty of places to work, especially remote. You take a remote job and all
of this becomes a moot point.

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