Category: Cannabis

The Cannabis Industry and Work-related Asthma and Allergies

  In January 2022, there were about 428,000 people working in the legal cannabis industry across the country.[1] Workers in the cannabis industry face potential workplace hazards, including exposure to: Bacteria, mold, and other fungi resulting from high humidity. Wet conditions and poor ventilation in work environments. Endotoxins (bacterial cell wall components released when certain Read More >

Posted on by Bradley King, PhD, MPH, CIH; Catherine Blackwood, PhD; Tara Croston, PhD; Angela Lemons, MS; Sophia Chiu, MD, MPH; Michael Grant, ScD, CIH; Rachel Bailey, DO, MPH; Katelynn Dodd, MPH, Reid Harvey, DVM, MPH; and Jacek Mazurek, MD, PhD.5 Comments

WCI Coverage of Cannabis Costs for Work-related Health Conditions

  The use of cannabis for treatment of work-related health conditions and coverage under workers’ compensation are emerging occupational health and safety issues. Currently 36 states and the District of Columbia (DC) have laws that make cannabis available to consumers with qualifying medical conditions.[1] While the allowable medical conditions vary by state, they include cancer, Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, MD; Steven J. Wurzelbacher, PhD; and Jamie Osborne, MPH, CHES®1 Comment

Envisioning the Future of Construction: Challenges and Opportunities for Occupational Safety and Health

Introduction Today’s construction industry is quite different than what existed just a few decades ago. These days, it is much less common to see workers hauling around rolls of hand drawn blueprints, punching numbers into printing calculators, or fiddling with slide rules. Records and plans are now created and stored digitally; workers use new, more Read More >

Posted on by Melissa Edmondson, MS, CIH, CPH, and Scott Earnest, PhD, PE, CSP5 Comments

Cannabis and Work: The Need for More Research

Introduction Cannabis sativa has been used for a wide variety of industrial, medical, and non-medical uses for thousands of years, yet remains a source of controversy across the fields of medicine, law, and occupational safety1-5. Access to and consumption of cannabis have increased as a result of more favorable public attitudes and state access laws. Read More >

Posted on by Jamie Osborne, MPH, CHES®, and John Howard, MD11 Comments

Cannabis and Work: Implications, Impairment, and the Need for Further Research

  American workplaces are facing unprecedented challenges related to the rapidly evolving landscape of cannabis legalization and its increasing use among workers. Cannabis[1] is the most frequently used illicit drug (by Federal law) among Americans, with an estimated 43.5 million past-year users age 12 or older in 2018 (1). Nearly 18% of adults employed full-time, Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, MD; L. Casey Chosewood, MD; Lore Jackson-Lee, MPH; and Jamie Osborne, MPH, CHES®21 Comments