Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
A B.C. Human Rights Tribunal case involving a gymnastic coach suspended after co-workers claimed she was "stoned" at work when she used medical marijuana raises a difficult issue for employers, according to experts.
How do you balance the needs of an employee who requires medical marijuana with ensuring there is no "intoxication" at work, asks adjunct professor Mark Haden of the University of B.C.'s School of Population and Public Health.
"The real issue is impairment testing, and that's hard to do right now. Urine analysis testing isn't useful, since marijuana can be detected for 30 days - long after any psychological or physical effect has passed," he said.
National policies on marijuana use are needed for the workplace, Haden said.
"It's easier with alcohol because there isn't 'medical alcohol' use. Cannabis is trickier to test. Once it becomes legal, these issues have to be solved very quickly."
While it is clear people should not be allowed to create a dangerous environment at work, he said, employers can only determine through observation whether a person using medical marijuana is indeed intoxicated. There is no scientific test.
Mark Thompson, professor emeritus at the Sauder School of Business, said he recently attended a conference about marijuana for labour arbitrators and what they heard was there is very little case law on the issue.
"Right now the law is very unclear, understandably, since it hasn't been legalized yet and the number of cases involving medical marijuana are not very numerous," he said. "The Human Rights Tribunal has a test case (with the gymnastics coach) that will have repercussions in the workplace. I assume one of the defences is it was being taken for medical reasons, but even if you were taking painkillers, you still can't be impaired. If you can't function, the employer has the right to exclude you from the workplace."
Thompson said if there was a scientific way to measure the impairment of marijuana it would make it easier to create a national standard, but no such standard exists for now.
"Legalizing marijuana may look good and impressive to the electorate, but there are lots of technical issues to be resolved, and this is one of them," he said.
Simon Fraser University professor Neil Boyd, a long-time advocate for legalizing marijuana, said if the coach wasn't able to do her job because of her medical marijuana use, then it is valid to not allow her to continue in the workplace.
"The fact you are a medical marijuana user doesn't isolate you from any liability in the workplace. We certainly allow people to use a number of medications, and that should be the case with medical marijuana, but if you can't do your job because you are impaired than that's a problem," he said.
In the case of the gymnastics coach, her employer had a zero-tolerance policy toward illegal drug use when she was suspended in 2015. According to tribunal documents, she claims she never came to work impaired and used medical marijuana in her off-time to manage acid reflux and other gastric problems. Her employer countered that it was unsafe for her to coach children on hazardous gym equipment.
Medical marijuana is a problematic issue for employers, many of whom treat it the same as alcohol, said Robyn Durling, the communications director for the B.C. Human Rights Clinic, which is representing the coach.
"In the past, people have seen alcohol and marijuana to be the same problem in the workplace, but now with medical marijuana it needs to be seen as a pharmaceutical," Durling said. "The question becomes: when can a person be able to use it in the workplace? The test is an employer will have to show the person was impaired."
Durling said the tribunal is expected to hear the case in about nine months, but it is likely it will be settled before that. He noted only about two per cent of complaints go to a hearing.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: No Easy Answers For Dealing With Medical Marijuana In The Workplace, Say B.C. Experts
Author: Kim Pemberton
Contact: canada.com
Photo Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez
Website: canada.com
How do you balance the needs of an employee who requires medical marijuana with ensuring there is no "intoxication" at work, asks adjunct professor Mark Haden of the University of B.C.'s School of Population and Public Health.
"The real issue is impairment testing, and that's hard to do right now. Urine analysis testing isn't useful, since marijuana can be detected for 30 days - long after any psychological or physical effect has passed," he said.
National policies on marijuana use are needed for the workplace, Haden said.
"It's easier with alcohol because there isn't 'medical alcohol' use. Cannabis is trickier to test. Once it becomes legal, these issues have to be solved very quickly."
While it is clear people should not be allowed to create a dangerous environment at work, he said, employers can only determine through observation whether a person using medical marijuana is indeed intoxicated. There is no scientific test.
Mark Thompson, professor emeritus at the Sauder School of Business, said he recently attended a conference about marijuana for labour arbitrators and what they heard was there is very little case law on the issue.
"Right now the law is very unclear, understandably, since it hasn't been legalized yet and the number of cases involving medical marijuana are not very numerous," he said. "The Human Rights Tribunal has a test case (with the gymnastics coach) that will have repercussions in the workplace. I assume one of the defences is it was being taken for medical reasons, but even if you were taking painkillers, you still can't be impaired. If you can't function, the employer has the right to exclude you from the workplace."
Thompson said if there was a scientific way to measure the impairment of marijuana it would make it easier to create a national standard, but no such standard exists for now.
"Legalizing marijuana may look good and impressive to the electorate, but there are lots of technical issues to be resolved, and this is one of them," he said.
Simon Fraser University professor Neil Boyd, a long-time advocate for legalizing marijuana, said if the coach wasn't able to do her job because of her medical marijuana use, then it is valid to not allow her to continue in the workplace.
"The fact you are a medical marijuana user doesn't isolate you from any liability in the workplace. We certainly allow people to use a number of medications, and that should be the case with medical marijuana, but if you can't do your job because you are impaired than that's a problem," he said.
In the case of the gymnastics coach, her employer had a zero-tolerance policy toward illegal drug use when she was suspended in 2015. According to tribunal documents, she claims she never came to work impaired and used medical marijuana in her off-time to manage acid reflux and other gastric problems. Her employer countered that it was unsafe for her to coach children on hazardous gym equipment.
Medical marijuana is a problematic issue for employers, many of whom treat it the same as alcohol, said Robyn Durling, the communications director for the B.C. Human Rights Clinic, which is representing the coach.
"In the past, people have seen alcohol and marijuana to be the same problem in the workplace, but now with medical marijuana it needs to be seen as a pharmaceutical," Durling said. "The question becomes: when can a person be able to use it in the workplace? The test is an employer will have to show the person was impaired."
Durling said the tribunal is expected to hear the case in about nine months, but it is likely it will be settled before that. He noted only about two per cent of complaints go to a hearing.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: No Easy Answers For Dealing With Medical Marijuana In The Workplace, Say B.C. Experts
Author: Kim Pemberton
Contact: canada.com
Photo Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez
Website: canada.com
