Weed in the Culinary Workplace
With the growing trend for states to
legalize the medical use and also the recreational use of marijuana, there has
been a topic that has been more and more in the spotlight. How do employers drug test effect employment
for their companies? According to SAPAA, there were 13.1 million employed drug
abusers in the U.S. in 2007, with food and construction industries leading the way. “In a 6-0 decision, the high court
affirmed lower court rulings that businesses can fire employees for the use of
medical marijuana — even if it’s off-duty.”
I think the big issue with employers
with dealing with productivity as well as safety, especially the leading
industry of drug abuser in 2007 being the Food industry. Several issues you could run into with the
culinary workplace work productivity. When
under the influence of marijuana it can have effects that slow down motor function
and reaction time. Being in an industry such as food and working with sharp
tools, you can see how this can be and issue with most, if not all employers.
Most of the results of an employee making a mistake can come with consequences
for them and the employer. “if you make
a mistake, you can find yourself in court”
With the
legalization of marijuana grown across the country, a bigger spotlight is being
put on rules and regulations. More and more employers are implementing stricter
and clearer rules to weed in the workplace, which they should for the simple
fact that a lot of people can get hurt or even result in legal ramifications. Though
I don’t disagree with the recently growing laws of recreational use of
marijuana, I do believe we need to put into place specific laws addressing when
and how it can be used as well as develop some sort of test to can come up with
some sort of time line when last used, like a breathalyzer with the use of alcohol
