1. The Legalization of Marijuana
Is the Construction Industry about to go Up in Smoke?
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018

2. OGCA’s Mission
The OGCA promotes safety excellence and work to prevent accidents among association members and within the industry.
The OGCA affirms its support for the prevention of injuries, illness, accidents and fatalities in the workplace.
The OGCA urges the management of its member companies to adopt and administer safety programs and policies consistent with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations on all projects, and encourages construction employers and employees to cooperate in such programs in the interest of accident-free jobsites.
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018

3. Addiction is a Huge Cost Driver
Construction Industry Stats:
2nd highest substance use as an industry
Highest fatality rate due to substance abuse
Problem drinkers 2-3x more likely to have industrial accidents … Make more than twice as many workers’ compensation claims & absent 50% more often.
(CSAP) Contractor Safety Assessment Program
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018

4. Mental Health is Brain Health
Healthy
Brain
38 yr. old
17 yrs Alcohol
Heavy Weekend Use
Stressed Out Brain
e.g. Depression
Source: Brain SPECT Imaging in Complex Psychiatric Cases: An Evidence-Based, Underutilized Tool- M.Trujillo et al (2011)
&

5. HOW FAR DOES THE DUTY TO ACCOMMODATE EMPLOYEES USING MEDICAL MARIJUANA EXTEND?
Human rights legislation requires that a disabled employee be accommodated.
Authorization for medical marijuana DOES NOT entitle an employee to:
Be impaired at work;
Compromise his or her safety, or the safety of others;
To smoke in the workplace. Smoke-free laws apply to smoking marijuana in the same way they do to regular cigarettes;
Unexcused absences or late arrivals
The employer is, however, required to attempt to find suitable workplace accommodation for disabled employees who have a prescription for medical marijuana use, just as would be required for any other disabled employee with a medical drug prescription.
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018

6. Supervisors’ / Employers’ Responsibilities
It is your responsibility to:
Maintain a safe, secure and productive environment for employees
Evaluate and discuss performance with employees
Treat all employees fairly
Act in a manner that does not demean or label people
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018

7. Quotes
Marie-France Lalonde, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, and Yasir Naqvi, Attorney General, released the following statement regarding Ontario’s Cannabis Legalization Enforcement Summit:
Today, over one hundred law enforcement and public health experts from across the province, as well as First Nations representatives and the federal government, have come together to participate in Ontario’s Cannabis Legalization Enforcement Summit. This is one of many steps as we work to implement a safe and sensible approach to the federal legalization of cannabis.
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018

8. Quotes
Marie-France Lalonde, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, and Yasir Naqvi, Attorney General, released the following statement regarding Ontario’s Cannabis Legalization Enforcement Summit:
The illegal cannabis market is worth approximately $7 billion a year with significant amounts funnelled to organized crime. We also know that other jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis have seen a spike in drug-impaired driving. That is unacceptable. Our shared goal throughout this summit, and in our ongoing conversations, is to get the information necessary to ensure our police services have the support, tools, and resources they need to keep our roads and communities safe.
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018

9. Quotes Norm Keith of Fasken Martineau
Forty per cent of deaths in a workplace, about a thousand here in Canada, are due to alcohol or drugs or both.
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018

10. Questions not answered
Is medical marijuana a prescription drug?
How long do the risks associated with marijuana use last?
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018

11. Statistics
COLORADO
Marijuana-related traffic deaths increased 48% in the three-year average (2013 – 2015) since Colorado legalized recreational marijuana compared to the three-year average (2010 – 2012) prior to legalization.
During the same time, all traffic deaths increased 11%.
Marijuana-related traffic deaths increased 62% from 71 to 115 persons after recreational marijuana was legalized in 2013.
In 2009, Colorado marijuana-related traffic deaths involving operators testing positive for marijuana represented 10% of all traffic fatalities. By 2015, the number doubled to 21%
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018

12. Statistics WASHINGTON
The percentage of drivers involved in fatal crashes who recently used marijuana more than doubled from eight to 17% between and 2014
One in six drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2014 had recently used marijuana, which is the most recent data available.
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018

13. Quotes David Frame, OGCA
Government officials on the provincial and federal level appear to be focusing more on rules related to the distribution and sale of pot than on its impact on workplace safety.
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018

14. Question
Why is Construction not designated as a safety-sensitive industry as others are?
Such as:
Diving (O. Reg 32/14)
Oil / Gas (O. Reg 855)
Mines & Mining (O. Reg 854)
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018

15. Public Safety
There is no road-side detection device that effectively measures marijuana impairment, and no legal marijuana impairment threshold, so detection and deterrents of impaired drivers is inadequate.
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that fatal motor vehicle crashes have more than doubled in states that have legalized recreational use of marijuana.
Up to 40% of workplace fatalities are materially contributed to by marijuana and other drugs, and employers are held legally responsible to prevent workers from A&D use at work.
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018

16. Thanks to the Addiction and Mental Health group and to Norm Keith of Fasken Martineau for their assistance in creating this presentation.
Damage Prevention Symposium 2018