What does a lax company policy on impairing substances plus an impaired company worker equal?
In a recent LinkedIn post, HD Occupational Health Services President Darcy Hansen, RN, presented an imagined scenario that might puzzle Canadian companies with lax or nonexistent cannabis policies. The situation he lays out is the following:
Last night, a company worker consumed cannabis products in the privacy of his home, an act which is lawfully permitted by the company since it occurred outside the workplace. The next day, they come into work and have a few alcoholic drinks with lunch.
After lunch, the worker goes back to work and drives a company vehicle back home. At a mandatory police check stop, they are asked by the officer to comply with a breath alcohol sample.
Now, the prohibited blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) is 80 milligrams or higher per 100 milliliters of blood. As for cannabis, it is a minor offense to have 2–5 nanograms of of THC per milliliter of blood.
However, as our reader will remember, the company worker mixed both cannabis and alcohol over the last two days. This combination means that the prohibited levels of alcohol and cannabis result in 50mg or more of alcohol and 2.5 ng or more of THC.
As Hansen notes, it is incredibly difficult to gauge blood THC levels without the use of a blood test. On the other hand, blood-alcohol concentration is quite easy to assess with the use of breath alcohol screening in the workplace.
The lack of due diligence with regards to the hypothetical company’s cannabis policy would alarmingly set the company up for accidents or lawsuits. If anything, Hansen’s example points to the necessity of drafting a zero-tolerance policy for impairing substances such as cannabis.
But how to screen for cannabis when the protocol calls for invasive blood drug testing?
The answer may just be found in Otorize.
Otorize is the first proven solution for detecting cognitive impairment. Scientifically proven to reduce impaired driving, it utilizes a simple test you can answer in seconds to detect impairment from any substance, whether it be alcoholic, cannabis, or drugs.
The Otorize app allows you to self-regulate and take command over your actions. It is available on the Google Play Store and has recently won second-place in the Israel eBay StartUp Competition.
