Substance use and work
With the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada, questions have been raised about patterns of cannabis use at work, the use of cannabis to treat work-related injuries, and the implications of such uses for work productivity, workplace health and safety and work disability management. IWH research examines these questions, as well as questions about the use and effectiveness of narcotics or opioids to treat pain, including pain associated with work injuries, and patterns of opioid-related harms among workers.
Featured
IWH Speaker Series
Using cannabis to manage symptoms of work-related injuries: Experiences of injured workers in Ontario
Published: February 24, 2026
Research Highlights
Severe pain, not pressure to return to work or lack of accommodation offer, linked to opioid use post-injury
An IWH study found that among a group of injured workers in Ontario, those who experienced severe pain were more likely to use opioids than those who had no or only mild pain.
Published: February 12, 2025
Project
Project
Understanding the use and impact of early opioid prescriptions for work-related low-back pain
Do opioids prescribed in the early weeks of a new workers’ compensation lost-time claim for low-back pain result in prolonged work disability? This was one of the questions asked by an IWH research team looking at the opioid prescription patterns with respect to low-back pain.
Status: Completed 2017