Establishing a Cannabis HR Policy in the Office

Cannabis is legal for adult use in 20 U.S. states and legal for medical use in many more. The rapid expansion of legal cannabis is impactful at Marino because we have a leading cannabis PR practice, but every business should proactively think about its cannabis HR policy. 

Will your company allow cannabis beverages to be offered alongside beer at the holiday party? What happens if an employee feels professionally retaliated against for consuming cannabis after work hours? Can you legally ban cannabis from all work functions while still allowing alcohol consumption and cigarette breaks? Without a cannabis HR policy in place, each of these scenarios could cause significant legal issues in addition to potentially alienating employees.    

While your final cannabis HR policy should be written in consultation with legal and HR experts, here are a few things to think about when approaching cannabis policy at your organization: 

1. Be familiar with all cannabis related law in your state. Many states have already passed laws related to cannabis in the workplace. For example, in New York, businesses can’t punish employees for their cannabis consumption outside of work hours but can prohibit cannabis during work hours or when an employee is on call or on a break.  
    
2. Survey your employees. The goal with all HR policy is to create a positive and productive work environment. This can start by listening to your employees. Consider using an anonymous survey to gauge your employees' knowledge of cannabis, its use, and what is legal in their state. 
    
3. Think about what company culture you want to embrace. If your business doesn’t allow any alcohol consumption at corporate functions, also outlawing cannabis is an easy decision. However, a glass of wine or a beer are frequently freely provided at sponsored happy hours, networking events, and company parties. Over a quarter of Gen Z admit to consuming cannabis in the past month. If you’re looking to attract younger talent, allowing cannabis beverages or edibles at events with alcohol might communicate a corporate embrace of innovation and change.  
    
4. Educate employees on any changes. Regardless of what your cannabis HR policy is, make sure it’s clearly communicated to all employees, and they know where to go with any questions. Just as important as employees know when and where they can or can’t consume cannabis at the workplace is managers knowing that an employee’s off-hours cannabis consumption can’t negatively impact their career opportunities.  

As a leading cannabis PR and public affairs firm, Marino was excited to review our cannabis HR policy. With the above considerations in mind, and support from legal and HR experts, we successfully rolled out a new policy that has been embraced by employees.