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also be required to fully list the contents of their products and clearly communicate the risks involved with using them. Then consumers would no longer be in the dark on THC levels, origin, additives, and other pertinent details.
Just as marijuana producers are side- stepping the rules that exist for prescrip- tion medicine and supplements, they are circumventing basic rules in place to keep recreational alcohol consumption above board. It seems that marijuana is slipping through the cracks and those in the mari- juana industry would prefer you continue not to notice.
Remind Us Again, Why Do We Care?
Beyond the efficacy of any of these control processes or the arguments one might make about the role of government in our person- al lives and personal choices, each one of us must consider the impact of marijuana as it forges its unique path to legalization.
Consider the Costs
For employers, safety in the workplace is critical. The doctrines of negligent hiring and respondeat superior both apply to em- ployers’ liability for dangerous employees. Respondeat superior is limited to an em- ployee’s acts within the scope of employ- ment. Negligent hiring imposes liability on an employer when an employee commits an intentional tort, most often outside the scope of employment, against a member of the public. The employer can be held liable when the employer knew or should have known that the employee might engage in injurious conduct toward third persons.
Failing to perform pre-employment screening, failing to screen for marijuana, or failing to test when an injury or acci- dent could have been the result of drug use leaves employers open for lawsuits. Cases like Minnesota’s Ponticas v. K.M.S. show that “although an employer will not be held liable for failure to discover information about the employee’s incompetence that could not have been discovered by reason- able investigation, the issue is whether the employer did make a reasonable investiga- tion. The scope of the investigation is di- rectly related to the severity of the risk third parties are subjected to by an incompetent employee.” (emphasis added).
As an employer, the health and wellness of your employees is essential. It is impor-
tant not only for a productive workplace, but the rising cost of health care is one of the heaviest impacts on today’s employer. Con- sider the potential effect to health care costs.
■ NIDA’s recent study shows that the potency of marijuana has “risen by a factor of three in the last thirty years.” The study found potency values close to 30 percent, up from 10 percent just a few decades ago, and goes on to state that “the higher THC content is responsible for more trips to the emergency room, more psychotic behavior and damage to the brain.”3
■ Smoking one joint is equal to smok- ing five cigarettes; because marijuana smokers tend to take longer drags, they end up with three to five times more tar and carbon monoxide in their bodies. The smoke contains numerous chemicals that are similar to tobacco products, but with 50 to 70 percent more carcinogens (which cause cancer) than tobacco. Therefore, frequent marijuana users are just as likely to experience chronic cough and height- ened risk of respiratory illness and infec- tion as their tobacco smoker counterpart.4 Of every $10 spent on health care in the U.S., almost 90 cents is due to smoking, a new analysis says. Using recent health and medical spending surveys, researchers cal- culated that 8.7 percent of all health care spending, or $170 billion a year, is for ill- ness caused by tobacco smoke.5 How long until marijuana smoke catches up?
■ Marijuana is the #2 substance of abuse in America, second only to alcohol. In 2006, excessive alcohol consumption cost the United States $223.5 billion. The cost of marijuana abuse will rise as use, acceptance, and legalization continue to gain ground.
■ Marijuana is addictive just like alco- hol. Marijuana impairs a person’s ability to operate a car or other heavy machinery just like alcohol. Marijuana leads to more work- place accidents just like alcohol.6
Thankfully, employers can use drug testing to limit liability in the workplace.
Updating your policy to follow the federal guidelines for Schedule I drugs, to maintain a drug-free workplace, to comply with state voluntary and mandatory laws are all still acceptable. Using innovative technologies like oral fluid testing to detect recent use, providing training to managers and supervisors to detect use, and main- taining drug testing practices in hiring and
employment are all recommended. Each will limit your liability and help prepare your company as legalization continues.
Unfortunately, the states reaping the benefits of the tax dollars won’t help to pay your legal bills to defend even a winning lawsuit. The growers likely will be unwill- ing to shoulder the burden of your rising health care costs. The marijuana distribu- tors are most certainly not going to set up a fund to help employers offset the increased worker’s compensation claims and insurance premiums. The clinics will be hard pressed to chip in to pay the claim when a customer is injured due to an un- safe workplace.
As a safety manager, an HR director, or a company executive, remaining confused and silent toward the issue of legal mari- juana may prove to be a very costly mistake for you and your company.
Nina M French is the Managing Partner for the Current Consulting Group, LLC (www. currentconsultinggroup.com) with more than 24 years of experience in employee screening. She specializes in product and business development, drug testing market- ing and strategy and in occupational health and wellness operations as part of an overall screening organization. She has experience in managing drug-free workplace operations including vendor management, medical re- view, client services, account management, and sales support. Her consulting emphasis is on helping employee screening providers streamline operations, define their product portfolio for market in alignment with core business goals, launch new products, in- crease revenue, and retain existing clients.
REFERENCES
1. http://www.gallup.com/poll/196550/ support-legal-marijuana.aspx
2. http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatment- sandsideeffects/complementaryandalternative- medicine/dietarysupplements/dietary-supple- ments-fda-regulations
3. NIDA
4. http://www.american.edu/ocl/wellness/Mari-
juana.cfm#longterm
5. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health- care-costs-smoking-idUSKBN0JX2BE20141219
6. CDC, April, 2014
www.ohsonline.com
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