A terrific article by The Minnesota Lawyer thoughtfully walks through what legal recreational marijuana in Minnesota would mean for workplace safety, legal implications, and general day to day practices. Minnesota, like many other states, is considering the legalization of recreational marijuana and with that comes implications for the workplace.
As the article explains, “[o]ne of the major concerns for employers is a lack of uniformly accepted standards for measuring cannabis impairment.” It further explains that “[d]eveloping standards to measure impairment is difficult because of physiological differences between individuals in the rate they metabolize THC,” and the “fact that THC stays in the system raises an interesting question: are you testing something that someone may have ingested a week ago?” There are a variety of avenues to answer this question, and Otorize is one solution; it addresses the deepest concern of deciphering between current impairment and usage, which is the largest concern when it comes to marijuana and the workplace.
The article continues to explain that “if the marijuana bill passes this session, it’s going to present a complicated challenge, citing the lack of a standardized, legally tested and supported test for impairment.” Concerns cite the question of what “reasonable suspicion” is and how to set overarching standards. For example, “[f]or employers in the construction industry, it will be essential to have clear policies on what is and is not tolerated in regard to marijuana.” While the current bill is somewhat unclear, “[t]he proposed bill does not include a requirement that employers test for cannabis – unless a job-related government contract requires it.”
Because there is so much uncertainty over how employers should prevent workplace impairment, Otorize offers one simple solution to counter some of this confusion. Workplaces can implement Otorize as a simple 5-second check-in test that employees must take before operating heavy machining or performing potentially dangerous tests. The simple, quick test can prevent accidents and even save lives, all while being easily implementable and affordable. It is scientifically proven and tests for impairment from any substance, not just cannabis.