After work joint? Now you've got scientific research it doesn't affect your performance

Think an after-work joint will make you a lazy employee the next day? Think again. Research has come through for us again.

A US study released last week has challenged the stereotype that cannabis smokers are bad workers, finding that ingesting cannabis after work has no impact on work performance the next day. 

Published in the journal Group Organization Management, the study was carried out by researchers from Auburn University in Alabama and San Diego State University. During the study, researchers gathered data from cannabis smoking employees and their supervisors. While employees knew the true focus of the study, supervisors were unaware their employees consumed cannabis. 

The results were quite interesting. 

While consuming cannabis before work or during work impacted a person’s job performance, an after-work smoke had no impact on the next day’s work at all. Although the workforce has been hyper-focused on lazy weed smokers since the war on drugs, it turns out that fear is little more than paranoia. 

Reflecting on the results of the study, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano commented:

Suspicionless marijuana testing never has been an evidence-based policy. Times have changed, attitudes have changed. It is time for workplace policies to adapt to this new reality.

Interestingly, the findings of this study are consistent with other studies on cannabis and workplace performance. In a literature review conducted by the University of British Columbia, it was found that there is insufficient evidence to prove that cannabis users are at a higher risk of an injury at work. 

Another literature review conducted by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine agreed, finding no statistical link between cannabis and workplace injuries. 

Using this research, both Maine and Nevada have banned cannabis-based discrimination, barring certain employers from discriminating against new recruits who test positive for cannabis during drug-screening. Other cities, including New York and Washington DC, have also started limiting marijuana-specific pre-employment drug-testing. 

Here in Australia, we're quickly falling behind. While we legalised medical cannabis in 2016, medical cannabis patients who test positive for THC are still at risk of discrimination in the workplace and on our roads. You can read more about that here.