Occupational Health & Safety: The number of people using marijuana in the United States is rising rapidly, and the impact of this increase is showing up at work. Drug testing services report more positive tests for marijuana, both in pre-employment drug screens and drug tests conducted for other reasons.
8 comments:
I think this article really starts to bring awareness to the controversy between alcohol usage and marijuana usage in the workplace. For example, I have heard many stories of union guys showing up drunk to calls and putting themselves in danger while also inhibiting the process of their work. And while alcohol is legal in every state, marijuana is not. But the point I am trying to get across is that no one really cares if you’re out drinking all night, as long as quality work and effort is put in the following day, and I think marijuana should be treated the same way. I don’t think any companies test for alcohol levels, so why should they test for marijuana levels? The article says that marijuana is a very low impact drug which leads me to the conclusion that as long as no workplace risk is being taken, then consumption shouldn’t matter much.
Like Kim, I've also heard stories of people who have shown up intoxicated to calls and gotten into accidents ranging from mild to horrific. I have also seen, having spent high school doing theatre as well, plenty of hooligans showing up after school under some form of influence. Since there is very little regulation as to what to do if someone is under the influence of marijuana, this ended up sliding under the radar of the teachers. As the students weren't in possession of anything at those points, they were not arrested or put in any real trouble. Workplaces seem to be much the same, although as time goes on and marijuana becomes legal in more places I expect to see more legislation. The fact that someone could be my ground support in a genie or holding my ladder while high is terrifying, as my life could very well be in their hands and they could end it without even understanding what they are doing thanks to the drugs. The fact that one could be coming down off a high the next day at work isn't as rough to me, as plenty of people show up hungover and put in the same amount of work, potentially even more to cover up their actions of the prior night. Being at work high is an entirely different animal.
Like Jacob and Kim, I too have been around my fair share of "hooligans", and, let me tell you, it is terrifying that people think this is a good idea. Drugs and alcohol disrupt your thought process. If you can't speak straight and it's illegal for you to drive while intoxicated, why would you show up to work like that? Don't you take pride in what you do? Don't you want to produce good work? It's un fathomable to me how someone can throw it all away for a few hours of fun. I don't care how people relax in their free time, but, god damn it, don't show up for work high. It's terrifying for those around you. To clarify, I agree with Kim and Jacob that marijuana and alcohol are perfectly fine for your off time, both are relatively low-risk and its frankly not my business to tell you what to do in your time off. I am also in support of legalization because I would like to see more legislation and control around the drug industry. Making something illegal will not make all your problems relating to the substance go away.
Like Kim and Jacob and Lauren and Kelly and David and Joshua, I also think that showing up to work high is really stupid. What did you expect to happen? Did you think no one would notice you ate all bagels? Did you think no one would notice you kept typing '420' instead of that expense report? C'mon, Jim, we talked about this.
But seriously, it kind of alarms me that this is a big enough issue for there to be an article on it. Usually if someone shows up to work drunk, they're seen as dangerous or falling into a pit of despair. Alcoholism is a serious issue and concern, but nowadays getting high on weed isn't seen as such. If someone really needs to be high at 8 AM on a Tuesday, there's a problem. If you need to be high right before you go to work at any point of the day, there's a problem! I don't want to deal with those kind of people, either as a coworker or boss. And, honestly, it's just very, very dumb.
Honestly I have little to no respect for people who show up to work under the influence. During high school we always had problems with cast and crew members showing up to call high, and I hated having do deal with all the issues that came up with that. People need to realize that not only are they endangering themselves but they could also potentially hurt others. I am completely for legalizing marijuana, as what people do after work isn't really my concern. Like Lauren said, making something illegal is not going to make the issue go away. For years people have shown up to work drunk regardless of whether or not it is legal. Unfortunately sometimes people just don't understand what a stupid decision they're making, and this will continue no matter what the substance is. Companies should update their policies to make sure showing up high carries the same weight as showing up high, but the substance itself should not be demonized.
I'll preface this comment by simply stating that I know weed. I hail from the great state of California, in particular a part of Northern California 45 minutes away from a corner of the world known as the "emerald triangle" for reasons I should not have to state, involving questionable agriculture. In short, I come from a place where marijuana use is more normalized than it is in many other places.
That being said, i have very little patience for those who cannot respect that there are times/places/situations where it is simply not acceptable to show up under the influence. I don't care if it "helps you relax" or is a "part of your creative process" or even if you have a medical use card. Getting high regularly is not something I necessarily have an issue with, but potentially endangering the lives of your coworkers because you blazed it before going to operate a counterweight system is something I have no tolerance for. Don't be a jackass, especially an inadvertently murderous one.
There are clearly inherent dangers with being drunk or high at work, dangers that if they come to fruition not only have the potential to become tragedies but also leave the company liable. To ask an employer to not test for marijuana is basically to say that they need to make a judgement about if that person is fit to work with no hard data. Like it or not the use of marijuana is not a god given right and if it has potential to decrease safety and productivity in a work environment I have no problem whatsoever with employers seeking to test for the drug. Whether or not you are actually high at the time of the test is a little bit irrelevant until we come up with a better way to test if someone is really high.
It is extremely concerning that the number of people who think it is okay to be under the influence of drugs (legal or not) is increasing to a level that it is now a cause for concern and necessitating workplace drug tests. I think it is common sense that you wouldn’t show up to work drunk—or hungover for that matter—so why would it be okay to go into work while high? I have heard of young people (my age) doing stupid things like showing up to work high and it annoys me since I think it is really irresponsible. Those are of course low-importance retail jobs, however. I think the fact that people with possibly dangerous jobs may be under the influence of drugs at work is really upsetting. We usually trust professionals to be just that: professional. It is enraging to think that someone would endanger other peoples’ lives by being on drugs while at work. Some other commenters mention how sometimes professional crew members will show up hungover, or worse, drunk, which just seems so irresponsible and disrespectful. If you want to get turnt on your own time, fine, but showing up to work anything but sober is totally not cool.
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