March 17, 2019 marks six months since recreational cannabis became legal in Canada. While the use of cannabis for medical purposes has been legal for some time, the move to legalize recreational use under the Cannabis Act has raised public interest significantly.
For employers, the impact of cannabis on the workforce takes shape in workplace policy and health benefits planning. At our half-year mark, qualitative data collection services, Supreme Court rulings, and policy recommendations help employers shape their decisions.
New Evidenced-based Medical Cannabis Formulary Has Launched
Despite its legal status for medical use in Canada, cannabis is not an approved Health Canada therapeutic product. While physicians are aware of typical dose ranges for medical cannabis, there are no clinical practice guidelines for medical cannabis dosing at this time, and this creates hesitation for many plan sponsors.
To address this, Reformulary Group, a Canadian healthcare technology company, announced March 22, 2019, the launch of the Cannabis Standard.
The platform uses a survey research tool to help patients track their outcomes to assess better how medical cannabis affects their symptoms and quality of life. It also connects patients with several Licensed Producers (LPs) – offering patients the full benefits of preferred pricing. In this regard, the program serves as a valuable platform for employees and employers alike.
Employers can offer employees access to preferred pricing from multiple cannabis producers, as well as medical guidance for their employees.
Accommodation of Cannabis in Safety-Sensitive Industries
The legalization of cannabis may not have entirely changed our cultural landscape, but it has shifted society into some uncharted territory. Employers have a crucial role to play in providing explicit education and guidelines on cannabis – and expectations for it in the workplace.
The duty to accommodate is required by provincial and federal human rights legislation, and it extends to disabled employees who use medical marijuana. These employees are to be accommodated in the same way as an employer accommodates any other disabled employee who has been prescribed medication.
The recent decision by the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador affirmed that the inability to measure residual impairment of cannabis constitutes undue hardship in a safety-sensitive workplace. The court cited the following evidence in its ruling:
- Impairment can last up to 24 hours after use;
- The impairing effects may not be known to the user;
- The use of marijuana can impair the ability of a worker to function safely in a safety-sensitive environment; and
- There was no available means or method for accurately testing impairment from cannabis use in the workplace.
The decision sets a precedent that the duty to accommodate (assessed on a case-by-case basis) may not require an employer to accept the risks of potential impairment from cannabis in a safety-sensitive environment.
Read the full case here: Cannabis in the Workplace: “If the employer cannot measure the Impairment, it Cannot Measure the Risk”
Adding Medical Cannabis to an Extended Benefit Plan
Currently there are 340,000 physical and psychological conditions for medical cannabis in Canada; while there are only four percent of employers are providing coverage in their benefit plans (Health Canada).
While there may not be a prevalent demand, experts forecast that with the continued dissolution of the stigma around cannabis, requests from employees to include this in their coverage will become more frequent.
The health profile of employee populations differs between workplaces, and like some health benefits, cannabis may be more or less suited to specific workforces.
Medical cannabis can be used to treat a large variety of ailments including physical and phycological conditions, while there are common ailments, diagnosis and treatment plans are at the discretion of the physician. That said, insurance coverage of medical cannabis will usually follow a more linear set of rules. Control measures set out by the provider often include:
- Coverage of conditions where there is sufficient evidence
- Prior approval
- Coverage limits (such as yearly maximums
- Atypical claims processes (requires itemized receipts from ACMPR licensed producer)
