Legalizing cannabis, whether for medical or adult use, brings similar conversations in any state or country. Public officials often field questions about child safety and impaired driving in the face of cannabis access. Some research has shown legalization does not inflame either issue. Despite a lack of growing cannabis-induced car crashes, devices that properly detect consumption within the last few hours are in high demand. Meanwhile, this technology is pointing attention to another issue: workplace consumption.

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Michigan technology company Hound Labs implemented a cannabis consumption detector that promises to tell whether someone had cannabis in the last few hours. This new technology may make some medical patients nervous, as disabled people may use cannabis to help complete a workday. As it turns out, workplace cannabis impairment may not be one size fits all.

Medical cannabis patients in the workplace

Cannabis is consumed for many reasons, and one consumer class utilizes the plant as they would prescribed pharmaceuticals. Since this is state-legalized medicine, some patients believe they should be have workplace protections in place.

Patients often need widely different doses, products, and applications to meet their goals with cannabis medicine. Many also find that they consume enough to mitigate symptoms. When someone consciously medicates with weed, the result isn’t always impairment. It can be, but not always.

The introduction of the Hound Labs breathalyzer gives employers the ability to tell if someone has consumed cannabis within the last few hours. Employers send the sample in for results, but the lab is developing a model that provides an immediate response.

This short detection window is one of the first of its kind, and companies are already testing the technology. However, when is it appropriate to test someone with a same-day tool like The HOUND?

Certain patients may consume cannabis and be more than able to complete their job. If a manager or other higher-up at work smells weed on their employee, they can now use science to prove if they did. Testing may be appropriate if there are consistent workplace accidents or if the person is operating heavy machinery.

The HOUND is a safety win in some regard, but also a red flag for patients who live fuller lives thanks to regular cannabis consumption. The stigma against weed still exists in many states, neighborhoods, and families. If the workplace receives tools to detect same-day use, workers should receive equal protection against discrimination.

Cannabis patients take employers to court

A cannabis patient may be disqualified from some jobs due to the side effects of their medication. Someone who holds a commercial driver’s license cannot consume cannabis.

A 2019 Department of Transportation (DOT) bulletin reads, “It remains unacceptable for any safety‐sensitive employee subject to drug testing under the Department of Transportation’s drug testing regulations to use marijuana.”

However, a stationary office worker with wicked-bad carpal tunnel or any neurodivergent person working full time may perform better with permitted responsible consumption. In these cases, workplace protections are still moving into place.

Employers cannot legally fire people for being medical cannabis patients, but in many states, like Washington, they can declare the space a drug-free workplace. Cannabis consumption, medically authorized or not, would be a fireable offense.

Cannabis patients have been fired for their prescriptions in various states over the last few years. In 2019, an Arizona medical cannabis patient lost her job at Walmart for a positive drug test. A federal judge ruled that there was no proof that she was impaired or consuming her medicine at work, setting a precedent of protection for future cases.

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The same happened to Amazon workers who pushed back after a cannabis-related firing. A sanitation worker in New York was awarded a hefty sum in the wake of a firing due to medical cannabis consumption. Not every case works in the medical patient’s favor, though. A Florida corrections worker challenged a firing for medical weed, but it failed to reach the high court.

Weed suffered another loss in court at the beginning of 2024. A plaintiff presented their wrongful termination suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont. He claimed that he should have the right of accommodation for his prescribed medical cannabis under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The judge dismissed the case due to the DEA scheduling of the plant. Rescheduling would not change this ruling unless the patient is using a federally approved and authorized cannabis medicine. Cured flower or dispensary-purchased edibles would not apply.

Weed in the workplace not the same for all

Just like with cannabis legalization, traffic laws, and public services– there are different medical patient rights and stigmatization from state to state. The only certainty at the moment is that things will continue shifting as individual court cases play out and new technology for workplace cannabis detection rolls in.