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Marijuana bill leaves employers dazed and confused
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tabled in the House of Commons, which outlines that those 18 and older will be able to possess up to 30 grams of (dried or fresh) cannabis and grow up to four plants at home come July 2018.
Though some find the bill drastic, a government news release promises a “strict legal framework for the production, sale, distribution and possession of marijuana.” Trudeau’s government ensured that selling cannabis to a minor would be a criminal offense and that there would be a “zero-tolerance approach” to drug-impaired driving.
As it relates to trucking, the Liberal government also explained that for the first time in Canadian law there will be a regulated limit to how much tet- rahydrocannabinol (THC, the impairing ingredient found in cannabis) can be in a driver’s blood while behind the wheel. The new bill outlines that it will be illegal to drive within two hours of having an ille- gal level of drugs in the blood. Penalties will range from a $1,000 fine to life imprisonment, depending on the circumstances of the impairment.
As well, according to the release, the bill would put stricter penalties in place when drivers are impaired both by marijuana and alcohol. The Lib- eral government has also pledged to have a pub- lic campaign rolled out to educate people on the dangers of marijuana use, especially when driv- ing and combined with alcohol and other drugs.
The existing access to medical marijuana leg- islation will remain unchanged, the bill outlined. Because the bill is so new, there are a lot of unanswered questions for the trucking industry as it relates to drivers, drug testing, employability, and human rights. However, experts are certain that as July 2018 nears, the smoke will clear and
questions will be answered.
“We’re at the very beginning stages in respects
to recreational marijuana,” confirmed Toronto employment lawyer, Shelley Brown, in an inter- view with Truck News. “This is just the first step. There are many elements that still need to be put in place from a regulatory standpoint.”
Brown says that going forward, employers – especially those who employ people in safety-sen- sitive positions like fleet executives, who hire and manage truck drivers – need to have a detailed and comprehensive drug and alcohol policy in place.
“Employers at this stage of the game need to take a hard look at their workforce and identify those positions that are safety-sensitive and have policies and procedures in place,” he said, adding that drug and alcohol policies should be updated if a carrier already has one that directly outlines expectations and requirements of employees about recreational marijuana use. “And make sure that your policy is well written and fully under- stood by all of your employees.”
Brown said a legal limit – or impairment thresh- old – needs to be set by the government. And a way to test for impairment, not usage, still needs to be rolled out.
“Impairment is what an employer can act upon,” he said. “Not usage. So, the difficulty there is, marijuana stays in the system for a long period of time after it has been consumed, therefore if you have a regular user who stops using days or weeks before a random drug test, he or she can test positive but that doesn’t mean they are impaired. Colorado is dealing with this now. They’ve determined a drug threshold and we need the same in Canada so we can take action.”
The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) said recently that it has already started the discus- sion with other safety-sensitive industries, to make sure safeguards and regulations are in place before marijuana becomes legal.
paramount responsibility for the safety of our employees and of the motoring public with whom we share the road,” said David Bradley, CEO of the CTA. “We are asking for a cut-off limit for impairment, like .08 for alcohol; a practical and less evasive roadside test; and the regulatory framework for employers to conduct workplace testing of employees in safety-sensitive occupa- tions, including random testing.”
Brown said that employers concerned about the legalization of marijuana should “keep abreast all of the changes that will be happening to ensure poli- cies and procedures in their own plans reflect these changes and are responsive to regulations and laws that will be coming down the pipe in the future.”
Since the plan to legalize marijuana was for- mally announced, Connor Page, business devel- opment manager at DriverCheck, said more fleet owners are calling his office with concerns.
“After the news was released, and we talked to several clients, we think the legalization is just going to result in more testing,” Page said. “More companies who previously never did drug testing or had drug and alcohol policies, will start testing, I think. We’re getting lots of calls asking what they can do, so they can keep their workplace safe.”
“It’s a medical fact that marijuana is not a harmless drug. It’s proven to affect work performance and more importantly for our industry, it affects driving skills.”
– David Dietrich, Erb Group
Page added he thinks the news will make random testing in trucking companies a lot more common because it is the most effective deterrent, meaning drivers who know their workplace has random test- ing will be less tempted to smoke up while off-duty.
However, one has to wonder what kind of effect this will have on recruitment efforts – something the trucking industry isn’t exactly managing well. If the industry wants to attract new, young blood, will such efforts be hampered by taking a zero-tol- erance approach to marijuana consumption, even while off-duty?
David Dietrich, vice-president of human resources for Erb Group, thinks it won’t be an issue. “Maybe I’m naive, but I don’t think it will have an impact on recruiting,” he said. “I believe truck drivers are used to testing and drug policies. Drivers are pro- fessionals and most love their jobs and wouldn’t want to jeopardize their jobs. Most want to be safe drivers.” Right now, Dietrich said Erb has a compre- hensive drug and alcohol policy in place for its employees that he classifies as a zero-tolerance approach. It does pre-employment, post-accident,
random, and reasonable suspicion testing. “When I first heard about the legalization, myself, it was troubling,” he said. “From a safety perspective, it’s a major concern. It’s a medical fact that marijuana is not a harmless drug. It’s proven to affect work performance and more importantly for our industry, it affects driving skills. So it’s con- cerning that this drug will be legal, but it does have
us thinking about our next steps.”
Dietrich said Erb will be updating its drug policy
as more information becomes available.
“The way I see it, our current policy prohibits the use of alcohol – a legal substance – in the work- place, so I’m going to assume the treatment of mar-
ijuana will be the same,” he said. TN
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June 2017 • Truck News 17