Legalizing medical marijuana appears to be associated with reduced rates of employees missing work\u2014particularly in trades like manufacturing and agriculture where workers are more likely to experience symptoms such as pain that cannabis can help treat\u2014according to a new study.<\/p>\n
Researchers at the University of Southern Maine and University of Georgia looked at the potential impact of state-level marijuana reform on workplace absenteeism, analyzing federal data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics from 1990 to 2025.<\/p>\n
The study, published in the Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, found that, overall, legalizing medical cannabis is linked to a 6.9 percent decrease in rates of employees calling out of work due to illness, injury or other medical issues.<\/p>\n
Notably, the study\u2014which involved a total dataset covering more than 20 million workers between the ages of 18 and 61\u2014assessed the relationship between cannabis policy and workplace absenteeism for different types of work and industries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe absenteeism-reducing effects of medical cannabis decriminalization are concentrated in occupations and industries in which chronic pain, physical strain, and job-related stress are plausibly important determinants of missed work,\u201d the study said. \u201cMedical cannabis laws appear to reduce sickness absence in settings where therapeutic use is likely to be most relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThis study identifies a statistically significant and quantitatively meaningful effect of medical cannabis laws in the United States on reducing health-related workplace absenteeism.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
It found the manual laborers missed work 39 percent less, followed by reduced absenteeism from industrial machine operators (33 percent), health-service workers (32 percent), farm workers (18 percent), food preparation employees (10 percent) and construction workers (10 percent).<\/p>\n
The industry-by-industry analysis linked medical cannabis legalization to 31 percent fewer sick or injured days in the durable goods manufacturing sector and 16 percent for nondurable goods manufacturing. Absenteeism decreased on average 16 percent for the agriculture industry, 9 percent for construction and 8 percent for business services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most substantial reductions\u201d were \u201cobserved in occupations and industries that involve physical demands and repetitive strains of work,\u201d the study authors said. \u201cOur results are consistent with a therapeutic channel through which medical cannabis access improves symptom management and reduces sickness absence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aside from medical cannabis policies, study<\/a> found \u201cno significant effect of recreational cannabis legalization on health-related workplace absenteeism.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough the estimated effect of recreational cannabis decriminalization was positive, it was not measured with sufficient precision to achieve statistical significance,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, research published last year on marijuana legalization\u2019s effect on workers\u2019 compensation<\/a> found that while the policy change was associated with a \u201cgradual increase\u201d in workers\u2019 comp claims, the average cost per claim in fact fell after the policy change\u2014as did patient use of prescription drugs, especially opioids and other painkillers.<\/p>\n
In 2021, a separate study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that\u00a0adult-use cannabis legalization was associated with an increase in workforce productivity and decrease in workplace injuries<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Those researchers looked at the impact of recreational cannabis legalization on workers\u2019 compensation claims among older adults, observing declines in such filings \u201cboth in terms of the propensity to receive benefits and benefit amount\u201d in states that have enacted the policy change.<\/p>\n
They further identified \u201ccomplementary declines in non-traumatic workplace injury rates and the incidence of work-limiting disabilities\u201d in legal states.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe offer evidence that the primary driver of these reductions [in workers\u2019 compensation] is an improvement in work capacity, likely due to access to an additional form of pain management therapy,\u201d says the earlier study, which received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).<\/p>\n
A 2020 study, meanwhile, found that\u00a0legalizing medical marijuana led to fewer and cheaper workers\u2019 compensation claims<\/a>. Researchers from the University of Cincinnati Ash Blue College and Temple University concluded that permitting medical cannabis \u201ccan allow workers to better manage symptoms associated with workplace injuries and illnesses and, in turn, reduce need for [workers\u2019 compensation].\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, a congressional committee approved a bill containing a provision to\u00a0block federal workers\u2019 compensation programs from covering medical marijuana<\/a>\u2014even in light of the Trump administration\u2019s move to reschedule cannabis.<\/p>\n
In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court\u00a0declined to take up a pair of cases concerning workers\u2019 compensation for medical marijuana<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Other research from 2023 into employee marijuana use found that workers who used the drug off the clock were no more likely to experience workplace injuries compared to those who didn\u2019t consume cannabis at all<\/a>. However, people who indulged\u00a0during<\/em>\u00a0work hours are nearly twice as likely to be involved in a workplace incident than both non-users and off-duty users.<\/p>\n
Separately, a 2024 analysis of five years\u2019 worth of federal health survey data by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that employees in the food service and hospitality industries were some of the most common consumers of marijuana among U.S. workers<\/a>.<\/p>\n
People in arts, design, entertainment, sports and media occupations also reported comparatively high rates of past-month cannabis use, as did workers in construction and extraction. Among those least likely to report marijuana use, meanwhile, were law enforcement, health care providers and workers in libraries and education.<\/p>\n
The post Fewer Employees Skip Work Days Where Medical Marijuana Is Legal, Especially For Manual Labor Jobs, Study Shows<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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