Paul Armentano is the deputy director of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, in Washington, DC.
Concerns expressed by Ohio business groups that the passage of Issue 2, which seeks to legalize and regulate the adult-use cannabis market, will adversely impact workplace safety and productivity are premised on fear, not facts.
In reality, no provisions in Issue 2 weaken or limit existing workplace drug testing policies for cannabis. Furthermore, many safety sensitive positions — such as commercially licensed drivers — are governed by federal drug testing regulations. As a result, changes in the state-level status of cannabis will not alter these policies.
Will legalizing weed make Ohio workplaces less safe?
Moreover, studies consistently show that employees who consume cannabis during their off-hours are no different than their peers. Their workplace performance does not differ from that of their coworkers, many of whom consume alcohol, and they do not pose any increased safety risk.
More:Issue 2 about more than smoking weed. How it would be a step in freeing victims of drug war
According to an exhaustive review by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, “There is no evidence to support a statistical association between cannabis use and occupational accidents or injuries.”
Another review of 16 occupational safety studies similarly affirmed, “The current body of evidence does not provide sufficient evidence to support the position…
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