Pot in workplace presents more dilemmas

The federal government has confirmed that marijuana will be made legal by July 1. The announcement was intended to quash rumours that the Grits were going soft on their promise to turn Canada into a pot farm.

Ottawa has yet to specify the conditions under which the drug may be sold, but we know of two that seem likely. First, sources in the federal government have said the legal purchasing age will be 18, although it’s possible provinces might be allowed to raise the legal age.

This gave rise to some unintentional hilarity, as school board representatives rushed to assure us they anticipate no increased use by high school students.

“What we expect is that our students come to school prepared to learn and … in a state of mind that they can be safe and they can learn appropriately,” said John Bower of the Durham, Ont., District School Board, fingers no doubt crossed behind his back.

And Art Steinmann with the Vancouver School Board added that legalization will help “normalize” conversations about pot and lead to more educational opportunities. I’m sure it will.

Second, indications are that users will be permitted to smoke the drug. If that happens, serious health issues are raised.

As I mentioned in an earlier piece on this subject, many of the same carcinogens that contaminate tobacco smoke are also present in marijuana smoke. This is a public-health disaster in the making.

But the issue I want to raise here has to do with workplace safety. Recent news reports out of the U.S. show significant increases in worksite drug consumption in states that have legalized marijuana, among them Colorado.

While there hasn’t been time yet to compile an industry-wide database, two trades in particular seem to be vulnerable — trucking, and those that involve work on sloped or vertical surfaces, such as roofing.

One trucking company in Colorado conducted random drug tests on its employees, and found that 80 per cent of them failed. Companies across the U.S. are saying they cannot find enough new hires, since the minute they mention a drug test, the applicant disappears.

This is, presumably, what lies in our future. Dope is hardly unknown on B.C. worksites. So are alcohol and other consciousness-altering drugs.

But marijuana occupies a special place. Many see it as innocuous — a purely recreational enjoyment that threatens no real harm.

And kept at home that might be so, if you overlook lung cancer and emphysema.

However, once it is granted the seal of approval, we have to be realistic. It will become a prop for people with tedious jobs such as long-range trucking. It will kill workers in dangerous occupations where a momentary lapse can be fatal.

And the lesson from the United States is that no amount of diligence by employers will halt this trend.

One of the frustrations of government work is dealing with persistent forms of social harm, such as poverty and child abuse, whose cause lies beyond your reach.

What we’re talking about here is something different. The prime minister and his colleagues are contemplating a form of social wreckage for which they themselves will be responsible.

Moreover, once marijuana is made legal, there will be no going back. The failure of the U.S. prohibition movement in the 1920s made this clear. That alone should be reason enough to call a halt while there is still time.

I appreciate Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s dilemma. Leave things as they are, and marijuana will still be sold. Worse yet, it will remain a lucrative source of financing for drug dealers and organized crime.

But there is a moral difference between contesting an evil, and laying out the welcome mat for it. Trudeau should think twice.