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Analysis: Employees No More Likely To Consume Cannabis During Work Hours Following Legalization
Toronto, Canada: Marijuana legalization is not associated with an uptick in the percentage of employees consuming cannabis either during or prior to work, according to data provided in a briefing paper by the non-profit research organization Institute for Work & Health.
Researchers with the group assessed workers’ attitudes and behaviors toward cannabis following Canada’s adoption of adult-use marijuana legalization. (The Canadian government legalized retail cannabis sales for those 18 or older in 2018.) Investigators reported “no change in workers’ consumption of cannabis before or at work” during the years surveyed.
Consistent with prior studies, researchers acknowledged that those who reported consuming cannabis products while away from their jobs possessed no greater risk of occupational injury than those who abstained. By contrast, employees who reported using cannabis during work hours possessed a nearly two-fold increased risk of accident compared to those who did not.
“These findings underscore the importance of distinguishing cannabis use at work from cannabis off work,” the paper’s authors concluded. “Rather than considering any cannabis use as an occupational safety risk, workplaces need to reframe their focus to use that is likely to lead to impairment at work and craft policies that center on preventing and managing impairment, as well as fitness for duty.”
Most workplace drug testing policies rely on urinalysis screening, which detects the presence of the inert metabolite carboxy-THC. This metabolite remains present in urine for days, weeks, or even months after past use – long after any psychoactive effects of the drug have worn off.
By contrast, blood tests detect the presence of THC, cannabis’ primary psychoactive agent. However, THC is also fat-soluble. As a result, it may also remain detectable for several days following past exposure.
NORML has repeatedly argued that employers should not presume that the detection of either THC or its primary metabolite is evidence of impairment. Rather, NORML has called for the expanded use of performance-based tests, like DRUID or Predictive Safety’s AlertMeter.
Lawmakers in several states – including California and New York – have recently amended their employment laws so that most public employers may no longer terminate workers solely based on a positive drug test for the presence of THC metabolites.
The full text of the briefing paper, “Cannabis use by workers before and after legalization in Canada,” is available online.
Clinical Trial: Cannabis Smoking Doesn’t Interfere With Emotional Regulation
Corvallis, OR: Subjects do not exhibit short-term changes in their ability to regulate emotions following the inhalation of cannabis cigarettes containing greater than 20 percent THC, according to clinical data published in the journal Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical & Experimental.
Investigators affiliated with Oregon State University and Washington State University assessed the impact of cannabis smoking on emotional regulation in a cohort of 12 young adults. Participants in the study were experienced cannabis consumers who provided their own cannabis. Researchers assessed participants’ mood and their ability to regulate their emotions during periods of sobriety and while under the influence of cannabis.
Contrary to researchers’ hypothesis, subjects performed no differently on a battery of emotion regulation tasks following the inhalation of high-potency cannabis than they did while sober. “There was no evidence that acute high-potency cannabis use affected participants’ implicit or explicit emotion regulation,” the investigators reported.
Study subjects did report improvements in their mood and a decrease in anxiety following the use of cannabis.
The study’s authors concluded: “The current pilot study assessed whether being under the influence of high- potency cannabis flower affects emotion regulation among a sample of young adults who use cannabis regularly. While participants reported a more positive mood and decreases in anxiety while intoxicated, there was no evidence to suggest that intoxication from high-potency cannabis flower affected emotion regulation. Future research with larger samples might consider adopting … alternative measures of emotion regulation to assess the acute effects of high-potency cannabis use on emotion regulation and other health outcomes.”
Full text of the study, “A naturalistic examination of the acute effects of high potency cannabis on emotion regulation among young adults: A pilot study,” appears in Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical & Experimental.
Study: No Changes in Driving Performance Following Use of CBD
Granada, Spain: Subjects exhibit no significant changes in their driving performance following the use of CBD, according to clinical trial data published in the journal Addiction.
A team of Spanish investigators assessed participants’ simulated driving performance after inhaling CBD or a placebo.
Subjects displayed “no statistically significant changes in overall driving performance score” after vaporizing products containing either 15 percent or 30 percent CBD. Further, researchers identified “no statistically significant differences in secondary outcomes, such as the standard deviation of lateral lane position, distance travelled outside the lane, reaction time, or collisions.” Subjects’ visual functions were also largely unaffected following CBD administration.
The study’s authors concluded: “The results of this study suggest that vaporized CBD seems to be a safe substance for visual function and vision-dependent tasks such as driving. Further studies are needed to ascertain if higher doses of CBD could pose a risk.”
A 2022 Swiss study similarly reported that the oral administration of up to 1500 mg of CBD does not induce changes in simulated driving performance. Another study also reported that subjects who inhale high-CBD/low-THC botanical cannabis do not experience any decrease in their driving abilities.
Full text of the study, “Visual function and vehicle driving performance under the effects of cannabidiol: A randomized cross-over experiment,” appears in Addiction.
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