A: Workplace marijuana use is on the rise and causes impairment, which means skills such as reaction time, divided attention, cognitive performance, route planning, decision making, and risk taking are negatively affected. In one of the largest impairment studies of its kind, “Driving Performance and Cannabis Users’ Perception of Safety,” showed that both frequent and occasional marijuana users were impaired during a simulated driving task for up to 4.5 hours after smoking cannabis. (10-17)
Employees who test positive for marijuana have 55% more industrial accidents, as well as 85% more injuries and 75% more absenteeism. Marijuana users are more likely to cause a workplace accident and file a workers’ compensation claim. (7-9)
- 3.6x more likely to be involved in an accident.
- 5x more likely to file a workers’ compensation claim.
- Average cost of a workers’ compensation claim is $41,353 .
