Ask a Stoner: Talking About Marijuana at Work

Dear Stoner: No one at my office says the word “weed.” How far away are we from accepting people at work who mention cannabis in their weekend plans?
Pam Weedsly

Dear Pam: Office culture varies widely from company to company. At some jobs, that conversation may never be appropriate. I write about cannabis and work for an alternative media outlet that lives on weed coupons, so my experiences don’t relate to yours. But most of my friends work at more traditional offices (or did before COVID-19, anyway), and I’m always interested in how they broach the topic with co-workers. For the most part, they don’t. Unless you’re actually friends with a colleague off the clock, or out after work and the drinks are flowing, discussing recreational cannabis habits with co-workers is still too scary for most people, especially anyone climbing the corporate ladder.
A recent study conducted by researchers from Auburn and San Diego State universities found no correlation between off-hours marijuana use and employee performance, but employers don't have scientific methods to realistically detect recent marijuana use, and that's a big deal to insurance companies and lawyers. After all, a lot of Colorado businesses, especially those with operations outside of the state, still test and terminate employees for cannabis use.

A bill that would’ve banned employers for firing workers for off-hour pot use died in the state legislature this year, but even if it had passed, it’s likely that openly talking about the plant will remain a generational matter until current twenty- and thirty-somethings become CEOs.

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