According to a study, workers who consume marijuana outside of work are not more likely to suffer workplace injuries than those who do not use cannabis at all. The study challenges the “overly wide” zero tolerance employment policies.
Researchers at the University of Toronto and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute have found that people who use their devices during work hours are twice as likely to get into a workplace accident than those who don’t.
The study was published on Monday in the Canadian Journal of Public Health. It followed 2,745 Canadians in positions that were safety-sensitive or non-safety sensitive over a period of two years.
There was no difference between the workplace injury risks for cannabis non-workplace use and those who had not used cannabis in the past year.
Researchers found that 10.2 percent of workers who had been injured on the job were not users, while 11.14 percent were off-duty consumers, and 20.13 reported having used marijuana two hours before work or during it.
The study states that “compared to workers who did not use workplaces in the past year, the risk of experiencing an injury at work was 1,97 times greater among those reporting workplace usage.” No statistically increased association was observed for non-workplace usage.
The authors concluded that “the results of this novel study indicate workplace cannabis use is not use outside the workplace, but rather use of cannabis at work” as a risk factor.
For safety-sensitive jobs, the injury rates were 20,14 percent among non-users and 23,3 percent among off-duty users. The rate of injury for those who consumed marijuana on the job was 31,35 percent. In jobs that are not safety-sensitive, the rates were 4.27 percent of non-users and 4.19 percent of off-duty users, with 12.3 percent of those who smoked marijuana on the job.
The authors explained that previous research was limited because it failed to take into account the timing of consumption when comparing workplace injuries.
It says that “Findings indicate that it is important to take into account when a worker is using cannabis when assessing the possible occupational safety implications of that use.” It says that only cannabis use within a short time of work is a factor in workplace injuries.
No statistically significant relationship exists between workplace injuries and non-workplace usage.
The scientists found that cannabis consumption in the workplace is a risk factor for future injuries, regardless of whether or not a particular job is considered safety-sensitive.
The findings do not lessen employers’ legitimate concerns about workplace impairment. Zero-tolerance polices that ban cannabis use completely, even outside of the workplace, are likely to be too broad and incompatible with this study’s findings. In an increasingly legalized world, nuanced policies for workplaces regarding cannabis use are warranted. This could include a minimum waiting period after cannabis consumption, when impairment is likely to be present.
A 2021 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded that legalizing adult-use marijuana is linked to an increase in workforce productivity as well as a decrease in workplace injury.
A study conducted in 2019 found that legalizing medicinal cannabis led to lower workers’ compensation claims and less expensive on average.
Biden’s VA continues policy of blocking doctors from recommending medical marijuana to veterans in updated directive
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