TRURO, N.S. – With cannabis use now legal in Canada, the onus is on employers to ensure they develop and implement sound policies within their workplaces.
“There is no accommodation for recreational marijuana use in the workplace. However, medical marijuana is very different,” said Kymberly Franklin, a senior legal counsel with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.
“As an employer, you will have to accommodate that if they are taking it.”
Franklin, along with Starla Sheppard of the Labour Standards Office and Scott Nauss, a senior director with Nova Scotia Occupational Health and Safety, participated in a panel discussion this week hosted by the Truro and Colchester Chamber of Commerce on cannabis in the workplace.
One of points stressed by Franklin to the approximately 20 employers who attended the discussion, was that employers should not simply try to reword an existing policy on alcohol use in the workplace to accommodate marijuana.
“If you try to adopt an alcohol policy for marijuana it will be a complete mess. With marijuana you have to adopt your own stand-alone policy,” she said. “I think having a drug policy is a good thing. What you have to do though is change the terminology.
Employers should also ensure they educate themselves on the differences between recreational marijuana and cannabis that has been prescribed for medical reasons.
While many forms of medical marijuana do not have THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient that gives a user a high) present in them, others may have, although it will be at lower levels than marijuana that is used strictly for recreational purposes.
Another area that has changed with the legalization of marijuana involves workplaces that previously had a zero-tolerance level for drug use and random drug testing.
Just as employees may consume alcohol during their off hours, so too can they now use marijuana, providing they are not impaired or under the influence while on the job.
Different jobs require different safety standards and some employers may want to make their own determination of whether it would be unsafe for an employee who has a prescription for medical marijuana to use it while on the job. But those decisions should not be made by the employer alone, Franklin said.
“That’s for their doctor to figure out, not you.”
The bottom line is to ensure that a workplace policy around cannabis use is in place, it is monitored and consistent and that all employees have the capability of reading and understanding it.
“There is no sense having a policy if you don’t follow it,” Naus said.
And employees should also understand that their jobs could be in jeopardy if the policy is adhered to.
Anyone with questions can call Franklin at 902-424-7281; Sheppard at 902-424-0858 or Nauss at 902-890-6959.
