Colorado expert offers local lecture on dangers of marijuana (VIDEO)

MANSFIELD — Recently local employers heard compelling evidence on the long term negative impacts of marijuana on the workforce in a session offered by the Mansfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

Keynote speaker of the forum, Jo McGuire, possesses a strong resume, serving as a voice for drug free workplaces on the Colorado Governor’s Task Force.    She travels extensively conducting seminars to policymakers around the nation and President and CEO of “Five Minutes of Courage.“

In the presentation, McGuire discussed a study from the Journal of Legal Medicine which found that more industrial accidents, more injuries, and more job absenteeism were associated with the medicinal use of marijuana in the workplace.

“In the drug culture we have today, a good game plan can include random drug testing and zero tolerance.  This approach can be the difference on whether a company is in the red or in the black, “McGuire says.

To pass muster in the legal realm, she encourages employers to update their drug policies by replacing references of “impairment” with the term “under the influence.” 

Her presentation cited a study by Employer’s Insurance in 2015, where only twenty-percent of small-business owners said they would allow an employee with a medical marijuana prescription to use the drug while at work. 

Another presenter, Tony Coder,  was appointed to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee, and provides insight to the rule making process for marijuana in Ohio.  He told employers at the morning session that while levels “THC” allowed in the Ohio Medical Marijuana program are high, these are the requirements that the Ohio Legislature mandated.

“The marijuana of the 1960’s had THC levels (the primary intoxicant in marijuana) between 2-3 %.   Ohio law allows 70% THC levels for edibles and 35% THC for pills.  And marijuana in Ohio cannot be smoked, but it can be vaped.”

The committee member admitted the program is in conflict with federal law with marijuana seeds crossing state borders for implementation of the program.   Just recently the Ohio Department of Commerce came under fire from state officials for hiring a medical marijuana program consultant who had a felony drug conviction on his criminal record. 

During the session, concerns were raised about the difficulty in discerning the difference between nicotine vaping and marijuana vaping.  Also discussed was that statistic that 1 in 3 workers cheat on their drug tests.

According to McGuire, when Colorado legalized marijuana, emergency room visits went thru the roof  with a 800% increase.  Traffic deaths with drivers testing positive for “marijuana-only” increased by 75%.  Tent cities also surfaced in Colorado since unemployed people are unable to pass their drug tests and obtain jobs. 

When the smoke cleared, two thirds of the communities in Colorado have opted out of allowing marijuana dispensaries in their jurisdictions due to public health and safety concerns.      

“Where has the drug-friendly culture gotten us? “ asks McGuire.  “One major testing company showed the greatest increase in use of all illicit drugs by U.S. employees in twelve years based on its laboratory testing.  When the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crunched their numbers, they found in 2016 drug and alcohol related deaths in the workplace soared by a staggering 30 percent in a single year. “

One medical study in the workplace discussed included airplane pilots exposed to THC-based Cannabis. Twenty-four hours after smoking one joint with Cannabis, pilots had difficulty in aligning with and landing on runway, pilots had increased vertical and lateral deviation from required flight path ,pilots had lateral deviation on approach to land, pilots had significant increase in distance from center of runway on touchdown, and one pilot landed off the runway entirely.   A notable observation was that the participating pilots were not aware of any impairment. 

“When the industry says that marijuana can be regulated, it is all a bunch of smoke and mirrors,” says McGuire.

“The chemical composition of marijuana is unstable.  You can find different THC levels of plants in the same warehouse, and blue/red light technology can bring rapid growth.  So when employees inside a cultivation operation housing thousands of plants, breaks a single branch off, they can easily clone the branch and start their own clandestine operation.”

In 2016, an Obama Administration study reported that Cannabis cannot be downgraded to Schedule 2.  The Drug Enforcement Administration Chief took into consideration conclusions by the Food and Drug Administration that marijuana has “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States,” and “remains highly vulnerable to abuse as the most commonly used illicit drug across the nation.  This decision is based on whether marijuana, as determined by the FDA, is a safe and effective medicine,” Chief Chuck Rosenberg said, “and it is not.”

The Bottom Line:

The Bible says in First Peter, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

View the video below from “Five Minutes of Courage” discussing the adverse effects of marijuana in the workplace.