August 13, 2018
The federal government is legalizing recreational use of marijuana/cannabis effective October 17, 2018 – the Cannabis Act (Bill C-45). Ontario’s Cannabis Act, 2017 will govern the details of legalization including purchasing, possessing, and using cannabis. Until then it remains illegal other than for authorized medical or research purposes.
There are different rules for recreational cannabis and medical cannabis.
General rules for recreational cannabis in Ontario:
Cannabis in the Workplace |
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Legislation |
Workplace |
Motor Vehicles |
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Cannabis |
Cannabis Act, 2017[1] |
Prohibited to consume |
Prohibited to consume |
Smoking Cannabis |
Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017[2] |
Prohibited: Smoking lighted tobacco, medical cannabis, and electric cigarettes are prohibited in enclosed workplace |
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Medical Cannabis |
Cannabis Act, 2017 And Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017 |
May be used in workplace subject to prohibitions set out in Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017 s.11(2)[3] |
Prohibited to smoke cannabis, have lighted medical cannabis, use an electronic cigarette containing medical cannabis or have an activated electronic cigarette containing medical cannabis in a motor vehicle s.17(1)(e) Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017 s.7 Places of Consumption, O.Reg 325/18 [not yet in force] |
Medical Cannabis |
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Employee Rights |
Prescription/Info. |
Accommodation |
Generally Medical cannabis may be consumed in a public place, workplace, vehicle or boat, or any prescribed place subject to prohibitions set out in the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017. ss. 5 and 11(2) of Cannabis Act, 2017. The only way to purchase medical cannabis is from a federally licensed producer online, by written order, or over the phone and delivered by secure mail. In the Workplace A prescription for medical cannabis does not entitle an employee to:
Authorized users of medical cannabis do not have to tell their employer about it unless they are:
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In the event that an employee has requested accommodation to consume medical cannabis during hours of employment, then the employer should request the employee provide the following information from his/her health care professional who has prescribed the medical cannabis[4]:
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Once an employee has requested accommodation for the use of medical cannabis in the workplace and has provided the requested information, employers should consider what accommodation may be provided to the employee in order to use medical cannabis while at work which may include the following:
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Workplace Policies
Employers should review their workplace policies to ensure the following:
We at Dale & Lessmann LLP are pleased to assist you with your questions concerning cannabis in the workplace. We can assist you in creating or modifying your workplace policies in respect of drug and alcohol, smoking, accommodation, and other workplace policies.
August 13, 2018
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Christina J. Wallis is a Partner lawyer practising civil litigation with a focus in Employment Law at Dale & Lessmann LLP, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a full service business law firm. To speak to Christina please call 416-369-7832 or send an email message to her at cwallis@dalelessmann.com.
[1] SO 2017, c26, Sch 1 [not yet in force].
[2] SO 2017, c26, Sch 3 [not yet in force].
[3] But note that smoking medical cannabis is prohibited in enclosed workplace and enclosed public places. Also note that smoking and consuming medical cannabis is permitted in a public place that is not prohibited under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017. So essentially, employees who require accommodation to smoke medical cannabis may be permitted to smoke it in an outside location dedicated to smokers (but recreational smoking of cannabis is not prohibited).
[4] The process for a person to access medical cannabis can be found at the Government of Canada’s website.
[5] See note 3.
Tags: Employment