Workplace Safety Tops List of Concerns with Marijuana Legalization, PMPs Report

CLEVELAND – As more states have legalized recreational use of marijuana or are considering doing so, it’s clear public opinion on marijuana has shifted. In fact, according to a 2022 Gallup poll, 68 percent of adults said marijuana should be legal. 

“If what they are doing at home is legal then I have no concern with it,” said Eric Hoffer, CEO of Hoffer of Hoffer Pest Solutions, Coral Springs, Fla. “My only concern is the difficulty in determining if they are abusing it during work hours.”

A workplace concern shared by Hoffer and others is that  — unlike alcohol — there is no way to test for those driving under the influence of marijuana (current drug tests only show whether the drug is in one’s system — not when it was consumed).

Charles Church, owner of Getem Services, Norfolk, Va., also had concerns about marijuana use and driving. "Here in Virginia it is legal, so you can get a medical card and smoke pot. If you want to smoke pot when you get done for the day and are off the clock, you know, what can I do? Nothing,” he said. “If someone is smoking pot on the job then I get rid of them. My concern is driving. We have breathalyzer tests to measure if someone is drunk behind the wheel, but with marijuana you can’t tell if they are high or not.” 

Half (50 percent) of those who responded to PCT's most recent poll said workplace safety was their biggest concern with the legalization of marijuana.

Other workplace concerns cited by PCT readers included lost productivity (20 percent); higher workers' comp incidents (17 percent) and absenteeism (13 percent).

“I would say all four of those are a concern in the workplace,” said Jeffrey Preece, owner of ZipZap Termite & Pest Control, Lawson, Mo. “I am an open-minded person and don’t like to micromanage people. I would hope our workers have common sense to not be [high] while at work. You worry about them driving impaired. Even with me, I am a DOT driver [who transports fumigants] and I can’t even take allergy medication.”

Our newest poll question asks: Have you ever observed bed bug resistant to pesticides?