Maintaining Drug-Free Workplaces Where Marijuana is Legal

How much marijuana (or THC) should be allowable? This is an extremely difficult question and is asked of the drug testing industry regularly.

With half of United States allowing some form of marijuana use, the workplace has become a hotbed of controversy when it comes to changing workplace drug policies.

Many employers are under pressure from employees to loosen those policies, making allowances for marijuana as a social drug, one often compared to alcohol. There are similarities in that you would not allow an employee to be intoxicated at work; likewise, you would not allow an employee to be impaired at work while under the influence of marijuana. The substances, however, are quite different when it comes to determining whether an employee is currently under the influence of marijuana or has residual THC that has metabolized.

While the majority of companies, particularly those that have safety-sensitive employees, choose to maintain a zero-tolerance policy, there are plenty of employers asking how to create some form of tolerance. There are multi-faceted issues in a culture of acceptance, and each particular issue must be carefully reviewed with safety at the core of the conversation.

Understanding that contemporary marijuana products (whether leaf-based, edibles, oils, or extracts) contain substantially greater amounts of impairing THC than the traditional marijuana of the past, longer-lasting side effects and sub-acute impairment are new concerns that employers must take into consideration. In fact, extremely potent products are so new in the marketplace that most employers are quite unaware of their existence at all.

For example, a popular product known as "dabs" (a butane hash oil extraction) can contain as much as 97 percent THC.1 Those who market this product claim that one puff is equal to 26 hits of a regular marijuana cigarette. Impairment is immediate and powerful.

With that in mind and keeping employee, workplace, and community safety as the ultimate goal, what options might be available?

The first question is: Who may and may not be permitted to have THC present in their system based on a particular job description in your workplace? Is the individual at any risk to themselves or others if they are under the influence? Is there any liability for you, as the employer? Are there any situations you can foresee that would put the company in a position of culpability for allowing the employee to work with THC in their system? Think about machinery, driving any type of company vehicle (to include forklift operations), exposure to chemicals, heat sources, etc.

This article originally appeared in the October 2016 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.