In advance of Canada’s proposed legalization of adult-use cannabis, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety has issued guidelines “to help workplaces prepare for the potential challenges and impact this new legislation may have on workplace safety.”
The CCOHS’s nearly 10,000-word white paper addresses everything from “the potential for impairment as part of a hazard assessment” to establishing “a concise policy and program on the use of any substance that can cause impairment.” But one major component of the story is tellingly under-addressed: exactly how “workplace impairment” will be determined.
Among the areas of observation suggested by the CCOHS: “Does the person have the ability to perform the job or task safely (e.g., driving, operating machinery or equipment, use of sharp objects)? Is there an impact on cognitive ability or judgement? Are there other side effects of the medical condition or the treatment that need to be considered?”
For now, we can only appreciate the mystery and quest for clarity around identifying marijuana impairment in the workplace, which is ably explored in Ronald Alsop’s BBC report The Hazy Issue of Weed and Work.
“Drug testing practices and laws vary widely across the globe,” writes Alsop. “In Norway, for example, drug testing is considered a violation of the personal integrity of an employee or job applicant and should be conducted only when strictly necessary, such as to protect the safety of the worker or other people.”