Cannabis and the workplace Recreational cannabis use is now legal in Canada. However, people have been smoking marijuana for decades, and employees (and the rest of society) have had issues involving the abuse of alcohol, opioids, and other illegal drugs for as long as they have been around. If it hasn’t already happened, there is a chance an employee will come to work with some level of impairment due to cannabis use. What will your HR department do about it?
Update your existing policy Some companies already have policies on drug, alcohol, and illicit substance use and abuse in the workplace. A properly written policy will cover most issues that would apply to cannabis use, such as impairment, use of intoxicating substances while on the job, the health and safety of employees and customers, smoking in the workplace, and an employee’s requirement to advise the employer of drug use. Updating the policy would require adding recreational marijuana or cannabis to the list of banned workplace substances, ensuring that it covers the different ways that cannabis can be ingested or consumed. “We trust our employees, but without a policy clearly defining our limits there is no defined path of action if someone comes to work under the influence,” said Avrom Charach, Vice President, Kay Four Properties Inc. “There is always concern that someone may hurt themselves or others if they do not act appropriately and this policy helps cover that. It covers what we believe are the most likely situations, such as effects from legal use, effects from illegal use, effects from medically prescribed use and the possibility of abuse/ dependency issues.”
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Many company policies recognize that people can have, or can develop, substance abuse issues. Cannabis can be consumed in many forms, for both medical and recreational purposes, and its effects (as with other drugs and intoxicating substances) will vary from person to person. Addiction is a serious concern, regardless of the substance involved. Amend your policy where necessary to help employees deal with addictionrelated issues. “We believe it important to assure employees that we will support them if they must take time off due to medical use or if someone who ends up with a dependency to ask us to find help and work with them through their issues,” said Charach. “A good employer will support an employee with a problem if they are up front about it.”
Create a new policy If your company does not have a substance use or abuse policy in place, then give serious consideration to creating one. One key reason, and associated benefit, is that it helps to ensure the safety of your employees in the workplace. This extends beyond cannabis, as alcohol is legal to purchase and consume (just like marijuana is now), and employees have used (and abused) alcohol on the job for as long as there have been workplaces. Whether employees operate heavy machinery or simply deal with the public, employers should focus on keeping everyone safe at all times. “With the new legislation in mind, safety was definitely the biggest motivating factor in updating our Substance Use policy to include cannabis,” said Melissa Caron, Director, Real Estate Management and Leasing, Old Oak Properties.