CLARKWATCH: Follow news and updates regarding sanctions on Mayor Clark.

Employers wonder how marijuana legalization will impact the workplace

Oct 27, 2017 | 4:18 PM

 

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The clock is still ticking.

The federal government continues to push ahead with the July 1, 2018 deadline to legalize marijuana.

The government of Alberta gave residents until today to have their say on how it will affect people in our province.

But it seems there’s still a lot of questions surrounding the substance.

“I think we consider cannabis dangerous because the individual using it feels it doesn’t affect them,” said Ed Secondiak, president with ECS Safety Services.

Secondiak wants to help employers feel prepared for the impending legalization.

The former RCMP officer spoke with business professionals at Medicine Hat College on Friday as part of an event hosted by Apex Alberta.

Secondiak wanted to make a point of showing how cannabis can impact their employees and their jobs.

“If you’re using cannabis and you’re doing a simple, mundane thing, the impairment is minimal,” he said. “Probably less than if you had a bottle of beer. But what happens if you’re doing a task that requires quick thinking, judgment, hand and eye coordination? That’s when that cannabis impairment kicks in.”

“I think the biggest concern is uncertainty,” said Lisa Kowalchuk, executive director with the Medicine Hat and District Chamber of Commerce. “We don’t know what the standards are, we don’t know how to measure impairment, we don’t know what enforcement will look like.”

Kowalchuck said the July timeline is worrying to employers.

“It comes down to what kind of policies, procedures, processes do businesses need to have in place to address it when it’s a performance management issue versus a safety issue,” she added.

Secondiak said some things are a little less foggy.

“You can’t bring it to work. You can’t smoke it at work. If you’re in safety sensitive position, you’ll still have to meet standards,” he said.

Secondiak said the legalization of marijuana should be treated like a similar legal substance.

“Treat it like alcohol,” he said. “Alcohol is a legal drug and we test for alcohol at a very low level because it causes impairment, so with the legalization of cannabis, nothing changes, we still test for it.”