Cannabis and work
With the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada, workplaces are concerned about its implications for workplace health, safety and productivity. IWH researchers are watching the research literature and conducting their own studies in order to help answer questions about marijuana use at work: its scope, its effects, and its relationship to work-related injuries and deaths.
Featured
At Work article
Cannabis use linked to higher injury risk, but only among those who use at or before work
Does the use of cannabis increase a worker’s risk of having a workplace injury? Previous studies have found mixed results, but none has looked specifically at the use of cannabis just before or at work.
Published: April 12, 2022
Research Highlights
Workers are using cannabis to treat work-related conditions, mostly without medical guidance
While cannabis is often used recreationally, there is growing interest in its use for therapeutic purposes, such as for pain, anxiety, depression and sleep problems. Some workers are using cannabis many months following the onset of a work-related condition, whether to treat their condition or for other reasons, mostly without medical guidance.
Published: October 2023
Journal article
Journal article
An observational study of pain severity, cannabis use, and benefit expenditures in work disability
Published: Canadian Journal of Public Health, October 2023
News release
News release
Only cannabis use at or before work linked with higher work injury risks
Published: July 2023
Journal article
Journal article
Workplace and non-workplace cannabis use and the risk of workplace injury: findings from a longitudinal study of Canadian workers
Published: Canadian Journal of Public Health, July 2023
Journal article
Journal article
Cannabis use among workers with work-related injuries and illnesses: results from a cross-sectional study of workers' compensation claimants in Ontario, Canada
Published: BMJ Open, July 2023
IWH in the media
NSC announces new cannabis-focused report, web tool and webinars
Alex Saurman reports on resources from the National Safety Council relating to cannabis safety, cites IWH speaker series presentation on the effects of cannabis on workers.
Published: Occupational Health & Safety, April 2023
Journal article
Journal article
Cannabis use and workplace cannabis availability, perceptions and policies among Canadian workers: a comparison before and after the legalisation of non-medical cannabis
Published: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, July 2022
At Work article
Cannabis use linked to higher injury risk, but only among those who use at or before work
Does the use of cannabis increase a worker’s risk of having a workplace injury? Previous studies have found mixed results, but none has looked specifically at the use of cannabis just before or at work.
Published: April 2022
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series
Cannabis use and the risk of workplace injury: Findings from a longitudinal study of Canadian workers
Does the use of cannabis increase a worker’s risk of having a workplace injury? Prior studies examining this issue have yielded mixed findings and have had some important methodological shortcomings. In this presentation, Dr. Nancy Carnide shares new findings from a longitudinal study of Canadian workers looking at the relationship between cannabis use and workplace injury—including workplace use.
Published: March 2022
IWH in the media
Supervisors and people in safety-sensitive jobs using cannabis at work, researchers find
Workers who reported using cannabis before or during a shift – including supervisors and people in safety-sensitive jobs – had jobs and work environments in which detection was less likely, according to the results of a recent study out of Canada.
Published: Safety + Health, April 2021