🔍 Key Concepts

• 46 CFR Part 16 – Chemical Testing for dangerous drugs • USCG policy that marijuana is classified as a dangerous drug, even if legal under state law • The difference between USCG credential action and company personnel actions (like firing or loss of pay)

💭 Think About

• Which of these options is clearly and directly controlled by federal law and USCG regulation, rather than by an individual employer? • Look at the wording: which choice is a mandatory legal consequence, and which are just possible outcomes that an employer might choose? • Think about what the Coast Guard can take action against: your credential or your pay/employment contract?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify in 46 CFR Part 16 and 46 CFR Part 5 what happens to a mariner who is found to be a user of a dangerous drug • Check whether federal regulations say anything about loss of pay or termination of employment, or if those are left to the company • Confirm that marijuana = dangerous drug under federal/USCG rules, regardless of state legalization