Cannabis explained
Medical Cannabis and the Workplace: Managing Risk Without Discrimination
Where legitimate risk management tips over into discrimination against a lawfully treated employee, and how to tell the difference.
Employers have commonly suspended or disciplined staff over medicine they were legally entitled to take, in cases where the same conduct on a different prescription would have raised no questions at all.
‘Unfortunately, yes. Through our Releaf Protect work, we’ve encountered situations where lawful treatment has prompted suspension or disciplinary action that another prescription medicine would never have triggered.’ – Rupa Shah, asked whether organisations are overreacting to medical cannabis
The pattern is not confined to workplaces. Adam Windish, Chief Revenue Officer of British Cannabis Group, spent 15 months contesting a UK Border Force seizure of his prescribed medication at Heathrow in December 2023, despite carrying his prescription documentation at the time.
Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court ruled in March 2025 that every condition for lawfully carrying the medication into the UK had been met and that it was not liable to forfeiture.
Proportionate risk assessment
Safety remains the paramount consideration for employers. With this in mind, rather than enforcing blanket measures for all employees currently undergoing cannabis treatment, the employee’s specific role and workplace duties should be taken into account.
‘A proportionate risk assessment identifies the employee’s actual tasks, the credible hazard and suitable controls, rather than relying on generalisations. “Cannabis may impair” is not an adequate assessment of a particular person performing a particular role.
‘Assess the individual, consider the underlying medical condition and test whether restrictions are genuinely necessary. In our practical work, blanket rules are repeatedly the point at which sensible risk management becomes potential discrimination.’ – Rupa Shah
The Cannabis Industry Council (CIC), in its September 2023 report on prescription cannabis at work, found patients facing mistreatment over vaping, possession and drug testing at work and during hiring.
In response, it called on employers to run health and safety risk assessments and offer adjustments comparable to those given to other medical patients.
‘Opioids, sedatives and many other medicines can affect performance, yet employers usually consider the individual rather than automatically excluding them. Medical cannabis should be approached with the same rigour.’ – Rupa Shah
The controls that exist for medicines like codeine or diazepam, individual assessment, occupational health input, adjusted duties where warranted, are the same toolkit cannabis patients are entitled to.
Practical steps, not blanket rules
‘Employers should update their policies, identify safety-critical roles, train managers and establish access to occupational health advice. Testing policies should also explain how prescriptions will be handled, and acknowledge that detection is not the same as impairment.’ – Rupa Shah
As emphasised throughout this guide, a positive drug test result should be considered the starting point of a conversation, rather than a final verdict on the employee.
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