Webinar: The Cost of Marijuana in the Workplace

The Cost of Marijuana
in the Workplace
by Lukas Shaw, CleanFleet
503-479-6082 | www.cleanfleet.org

Questions we will Cover
• Thinking about dropping marijuana when testing your employees?
• What has happened to states where marijuana is legalized?
• How does marijuana affect your body?
• Does a drug testing program actually benefit my company?
• Can employers still drug test for marijuana, even after legalization?
• What should or can companies do today?

Poll Question
• Is your company currently testing for marijuana in any
capacity for any position?

Thinking about dropping marijuana
when testing your employees?

But it is Still a Schedule I Drug
• Schedule I drugs have a high potential for abuse and the potential to create
severe psychological and/or physical dependence
• August 11, 2016: the DEA said a Health and Human Services evaluation shows
marijuana has no ‘‘currently accepted medical use’’ because "the drug’s
chemistry is not known and reproducible; there are no adequate safety
studies; there are no adequate and well-controlled studies proving efficacy;
the drug is not accepted by qualified experts; and the scientific evidence is not
widely available."
• "There is no consensus among qualified experts that marijuana is safe and
effective for use in treating a specific, recognized disorder," the report added.
• "At this time," the DEA concluded, "the known risks of marijuana use have not
been shown to be outweighed by specific benefits in well-controlled clinical
trials that scientifically evaluate safety and efficacy."

What has happened to states where
marijuana is legalized?

What has happened to states where marijuana is
legalized?
• Marijuana positivity increased 20% in Colorado and 23% in
Washington – both states where recreational marijuana use is legal
from 2013 to 2014, according to Quest.
• In Washington:
– Fatal road crashes involving marijuana has doubled after legalizing drug
– Approx. one-quarter of all drug treatment admissions are for marijuana
– Nearly half of all treatment admissions for marijuana are under the age of
18 – this is the highest proportion for any drug

Oregon’s Timeline since legalization in 2014
• Oct 2015 – Oregon allows existing medical marijuana dispensaries to sell limited
amounts of marijuana to anyone 21 and older
• Jan 2016 – Marijuana use among adults on the rise
– Marijuana use among adults 26 and older in Oregon has doubled since 2006, while at the same time
use has gone up only slightly in the rest of the country
– Overall, 1 in 10 adults in Oregon said they use the drug, which remains especially popular with young
men. Oregon’s marijuana use among adults has exceeded national trends for the past decade
– Three in four adults know that driving under the influence of marijuana increases the risk of a crash,
but nearly two-thirds said they don’t know at what point after consuming the drug it is OK to drive
• April 2016 – Oregon Liquor Control Commission issues first licenses to recreational
marijuana producers

• May 2016 – In Washington, Fatal Road Crashes Involving Marijuana Double
After State Legalizes Drug
– “The significant increase in fatal crashes involving marijuana is alarming,” said Peter
Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “Washington
serves as an eye-opening case study for what other states may experience with road
safety after legalizing the drug.”
• Jul 2016 – One treatment facility in Coburg, Oregon, is seeing an increase in
patients as young as 18 years old being admitted for marijuana use disorder
– Past studies were based on marijuana with a low concentration of THC. Due to the
sophistication of today’s growing techniques and modern means of extraction, the THC
concentration in pot is now significantly higher
– There has also been 200 calls related to marijuana received by the Oregon Poison Center
between January and June compared to 158 calls in all of 2015.
• Sept 2016 – There are 380 medical marijuana dispensaries selling to
recreational consumers statewide and 148 Portland medical marijuana
dispensaries selling to recreational consumers

• Winter 2016 – Oregon issues first ‘health alert’ for tainted marijuana
– Just two weeks after Oregon issues first licenses to recreational marijuana retailers,
130 people bought the dried flowers between Oct 15 - Oct 17 and lab testing found
the products were contaminated with spinosad, a common insecticide used in the
marijuana industry
– Marijuana industry brought to a standstill by new pesticide testing regulations
causing low supplies and big price jumps for consumers. Retailers, growers, and
processors blame Oregon’s strict pesticide rules for the problem
• January 2017 – Big change: Medical marijuana dispensaries no longer
selling recreational pot
– Ultimately, the state expects to license about 400 recreational marijuana shops
across Oregon, with dozens in Portland, raising concerns among regulators about
market saturation. If production exceeds demand, as liquor commission officials
fear, marijuana is likely to filter into the illicit market.

How does marijuana
affect your body?
Comprehensive Review
of Marijuana Research

CONCLUSIONS FOR: INJURY AND DEATH
There is substantial evidence between cannabis use and increased risk of motor vehicle
crashes
There is moderate evidence between cannabis use and increased risk of overdose injuries
among pediatric populations in U.S. states where cannabis is legal
CONCLUSIONS FOR: PSYCHOSOCIAL
There is moderate evidence between cannabis use and the impairment of learning, memory,
and attention (acute cannabis use)
CONCLUSIONS FOR: PROBLEM CANNABIS USE
There is moderate evidence that major depressive disorder is a risk factor for the
development of problem cannabis use and exposure to the combined use of abused drugs is
a risk factor for the development of problem cannabis use
CONCLUSIONS FOR: ABUSE OF OTHER SUBSTANCES
There is moderate evidence between cannabis use and the development of substance
dependence and/or substance abuse disorder for substances including alcohol, tobacco, and
other illicit drugs

How Marijuana Affects The Head and Body
Impaired Judgement
- THC alters the way you process information, so your judgment skills may be off. It
distorts your sense of time. Use of marijuana may result in intense anxiety, panic
attacks or paranoia. (National Institute of Drug Abuse)
Memory Problems
- Attention, memory and learning are impaired among heavy marijuana users, even
after users discontinued its use for at least 24 hours. In a survey of 150 marijuana using
students, 59% surveyed report they sometimes forget what a conversation is about
before it has ended.
A Dose of Dopamine
- Marijuana triggers the brain to release dopamine, giving you a “high”
and affecting your sensory perception.
Slowed Reaction Time
- Balance and coordination are affected by marijuana, and your reflexes may be slower
than usual. If you drive after using marijuana, your risk of being in a car accident more
than doubles.

Does a drug testing program actually
benefit my company?

Marijuana is the most abused drug in the workplace
• With that come many issues:
– 65% of accidents on the job are related to misuse of drugs/alcohol
– 40% of all industrial fatalities are caused by substance abusers
– SHA reports that 10-20% of nation's workers who die at work also test
positive for drugs/alcohol
– Substance abusers are 3.5x more likely to be involved in accidents on
the job and 5x more likely to hurt themselves at work
– Substance abusers are 33% less productive than their peers
– Substance abusers double cost of worker comp claims for employers
– Drug abusers use up twice as many medical benefits as their
coworkers

Substance abuse affects every Oregon resident, a
recent report found
• In Lost Earnings:
– $2 Billion directly because of substance abuse
– $1.2 Billion in criminal conduct and victimization
– $978 Million in premature deaths
• In Healthcare:
– $506 Million medical costs/insurance administration
– $307 Million alcohol and drug services
• Other Costs:
– $656 Million criminal justice
– $271 Million automobile crashes/damage
– $26 Million fire damage
– $13 Million welfare

Some industries have more substance abuse than
others

Accommodations and Food Services
– According to the Dept. of Health and Human Services, workers in the Food and
Beverage industry have the highest rates of drug use
– At a rate of 17.4% overall of restaurant workers using illegal drugs, the jobs of food
preparation (cooks and prep cooks), serving (waiting tables), and bartending, use
illegal drugs at twice the national average
Manufacturing
– The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a total of 4,609 fatal occupational injuries
by major event in 2011, with the manufacturing sector listed as one of the most
dangerous
Construction
– According to AON, 40% of construction fatalities involve substance abuse and 71%
of union members are in favor of drug testing
Health Care and Social Assistance
– The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists reported that the addiction rate
among anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists exceeded 15%
– Approx. 12-15% of all physicians and nurses will experience substance abuse issues
at some point during their career

SHRM Poll: Drug Testing Efficacy
• Drug testing can reduce insurance claims by 12%, first aid injury reports by
18%, accidents by 51%
• Those with high rate of workers’ comp incidences saw 50% decrease in
claims after implementing testing
• 19% of organizations experienced an uptick in worker productivity after
testing, and a 16% decrease in employee turnover rates
• For organizations with absenteeism rates greater than 15%, implementing
drug testing reduced absenteeism by about 50% overall

What should or can companies
do today?

Can I still drug test for marijuana in states
where it is legal?
• The Case Of “Michael Swaw V. Safeway”
– Mr. Swaw later sued Safeway for employment discrimination on the basis
of disability. He claimed he was disciplined more severely, job termination,
than other ”employees found to have been actually intoxicated with
alcohol at work.”
– Safeway has a drug-free policy which prohibits “testing positive for a
controlled substance on the job or on company premises.”
– The court ruled in favor of Safeway since marijuana is still classified as a
Schedule I controlled substance and is still illegal under Federal law.

How are small businesses addressing project bids
that require testing?
• Let’s say you are a Painting Company in Oregon who wants to
apply for bid to paint a school. The bid requires all your
painters on the project to pass a drug test.

Poll Question
• Now that you know the risks of marijuana in the workplace
and the benefits of testing, will your company reconsider
testing for marijuana?

Things you should ask yourselves
• Is your drug testing policy still relevant?
• Do you have positions that require a high attention to detail and not just
“safety-sensitive positions”?
• Is your policy clear on what is unacceptable behavior in the workplace,
specifically being under the influence during the scheduled work day and
what the repercussions are when the policy is violated?
• Are you prepared to know how you will respond if a tenured employee
tests positive?
• When someone is tested positive, does your policy state immediate
termination or is there a corrective action/alternative discipline or
company support for treatment and recovery?

What can I do to protect my company?
• Are you currently doing any on-site random testing?
• Have you considered oral (saliva) or hair testing vs just urine
testing?
• When was the last time your managers had Reasonable
Suspicion Training?
• Ever consider a third party to completely manage your drug
testing program?
CleanFleet can help with all of this!
Call our experts at 503-479-6082

Questions?
Lukas Shaw
lukass@cleanfleet.org
www.CleanFleet.org
503-479-6082

Upcoming Webinars
Apr 20th, 2017: What is Oral Saliva Testing and why should I care?
Register Today!
http://cleanfleet.org/monthly-webinar/

Thank You!

Webinar: The Cost of Marijuana in the Workplace

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Webinar: The Cost of Marijuana in the Workplace