POT LAW CALLED A RISK TO WORKERS

An Influential Business Group Says Changing Laws Could Increase At-job Injuries

Robert Fife CanWest News Service

OTTAWA -- Canada's largest and most influential business group is urging
the federal government to delay passage of legislation to decriminalize
marijuana until a thorough study has been conducted of its impact on the
workplace.

The Canadian Council of Chief Executives, which represents 150 major
multinational corporations, warns that pushing ahead with the pot law could
harm the economy through a higher number of injuries, absenteeism and poor
job performance.

Executive vice-president David Stewart-Patterson said it's estimated that
substance abuse in the workplace costs the economy at least $18.4 billion
annually and that is likely to be exacerbated by the relaxation of the
cannabis law.

U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci has already predicted that a more liberal
marijuana law in Canada would result in a U.S. border crackdown at already
congested border crossings, which cost Canadians billions of dollars annually.

Stewart-Patterson said it is imperative for Ottawa to conduct a major study
of how marijuana affects job performance before it wipes out criminal
penalties for possession of less than 15 grams of marijuana and hashish.

There are only a few known studies of the effects of cannabis use in the
workplace but none has been done in Canada, according to Stewart-Patterson,
whose organization has been researching the subject.

Stewart-Patterson points to a 1999 study of New Zealand forestry workers
which suggests that looser drug laws in Canada could lead to higher
on-the-job injuries and lost days.

The study by Canterbury University in Christchurch discovered cannabis
users in New Zealand's forestry sector had almost three times as many
lost-time injuries as non-users and twice the number of sick days.

Although the users said getting stoned helped them relax and do a "better
quality job", the study concluded that cannabis use actually increased
their fatigue and the chance they would make errors in judgment and get
involved in an accident.

"So we really don't know what the effect is going to be on the workplace in
terms of health and safety in terms of productivity and absenteeism and
employer-paid health costs," said Stewart-Patterson.

"Maybe it would be a good idea to do our homework and figure out what those
costs might be so we can make an informed choice before going ahead with
the bill."

The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse also lists a 1996 study by Texas
Christian University of marijuana use among 4,6000 municipal employees in
four cities in the U.S. Southwest.

About eight per cent were marijuana users and the survey found these
workers reported more absenteeism, tardiness, accidents, workers'
compensation claims and job turnover than workers who had not used the drug.

Stewart-Patterson said major corporations are concerned decriminalization
would only encourage more workers to smoke cannabis and this would have a
negative effect on the workplace and the economy.

He points to a 1992 study by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse that
found the total cost of drug and alcohol abuse on the job was $18.4 billion
annually.

However, Stewart-Patterson said that study did not break out the costs of
legal and illegal drugs in the workplace, which is why the business group
is calling for a delay in the bill's passage until the government
accumulates "better information in terms of the potential impact of
decriminalization on the workplace and in particular health and safety and
productivity."

The legislation before Parliament would impose fines of $150 for adults and
$100 for minors who are caught in possession of up to 15 grams of cannabis.
The bill also proposes tougher sentences for those who produce the drug as
part of a wider effort to stamp out grow-ops.