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As marijuana emerges as a mainstream treatment, employers will need to figure out how to deal with the use of medical pot in the workplace.

As far as the law goes, there’s no need for employers to overhaul existing policies — assuming, of course, an employer has already put rules in place that deal with the use of other prescription drugs that might impair mental capacity. From a legal perspective, all that’s really happening is that medical marijuana is taking its place along side pain killers and other powerful drugs doctors have been legally prescribing for years.

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“People sometimes need to take, for valid reasons, things that impair their judgment, acuity and performance,” says George Waggott, co-chair of the employment and labour group at national law firm McMillan LLP.

The novel thing about medical marijuana is that for a lot of people, pot is first and foremost a recreational drug. TV shows like Entourage and Weeds make light of the myriad of ways in which some people secure dubious medical authorization to use pot. But that’s just Hollywood looking for a punchline.