A Canadian consulting company will soon be starting cannabis education for employers, according to a report from the CBC. The Alberta firm, Cannabis at Work, will offer courses to help employers navigate the Canadian legalization of cannabis.
The classes are designed to help companies understand how the law impacts employers that may have workers who use cannabis, either medicinally or recreationally. The courses are scheduled to begin next month at the University of Calgary.
Karen Stokke, the learning manager for Cannabis at Work, said there is a great need for education for employers about the issues surrounding cannabis and the workplace.
“There’s definitely people that have taken the time to educate themselves,” Stokke said. “I certainly think there’s a gap there, though, for a lot of employers.”
Stokke said that employers have some leeway in establishing cannabis guidelines for their workers. Under Canadian law, employers must reasonably accommodate employees who use cannabis medicinally. But that isn’t the case for workers who use pot recreationally.
“A company could have a policy that allows (consumption at work), but for the most part that’s not allowed,” she said.
Stokke said that the information that her company provides to employers can help them limit exposure to legal claims.
“It’s to help mitigate the risks for companies, if they have a medical cannabis user, or if they run into recreational cannabis users in the workplace,” Stokke said.
Firm Also Recruits Cannabis Professionals
Cannabis at Work also offers human resources and staffing services to clients in the cannabis industry, which the company rolled out last spring. Alison McMahon, the founder of Cannabis at Work, said that she had long wanted to begin matching executives with cannabis companies looking for new