The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) and the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) have announced they will collaborate to study workplace health and safety issues associated with worker impairment from the use of marijuana and other drugs.
Citing changing societal attitudes toward marijuana, including its increasing use for medicinal purposes and new state-decriminalization laws, ACOEM and AAOHN leaders said the occupational health profession can play an important role in helping the U.S. workplace prepare for the potential impacts of these trends.
“Twenty states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws to legalize medical marijuana and two states have approved its recreational use by adults,” said AAOHN President Pam Carter, RN. “With growing advocacy, other states seem ready to follow. Mainly because of