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With the recent legalization of cannabis, questions may begin to arise around your office this holiday season. You are likely aware of the benefits and drawbacks of planning and hosting a company event. Many employers and HR professionals are also aware of the liability issues and dangers of serving alcohol to employees. As a responsible and forward-thinking company, you may already have policies in place regarding company events. However, employers will need to evaluate whether and how cannabis will be incorporated into their company event policies.

For the first time, recreational cannabis is legal for this year’s holiday festivities, company events, and parties. The challenge for employers will be to identify the unique ways that cannabis may factor into these company events. The legislation is still new, but this article helps guide HR professionals in the right direction toward handling legalized cannabis at company events.

The changes to cannabis legislation can be confusing and stressful for everyone, whether you felt prepared or not. Recreational cannabis is now legal across Canada, but the work is not over for employers. By now you should have updated your organization’s policies and put provisions in place to address illicit use and impairment at work, but have you thought about what happens when your employees start to indulge in legal cannabis use?

It’s inevitable that some people will start consuming cannabis for recreational use now that it is legal. Most employees can be trusted to abide by the rules, so legalization doesn’t necessarily mean employees will suddenly start showing up high on the job. While the main concern for most employers is intoxication and impairment, have you considered some of the questions that may be on your employees’ minds surrounding cannabis? You may be ready to deal with cannabis, but chances are your employees have a whole bunch of questions beyond whether or not to come to work high.

The official date for legalization of recreational cannabis across Canada is October 17, 2018. That date is coming swiftly, and employers are busy preparing their policies and conducting risk assessments.

With all of this preparation, you might feel as if you have become a cannabis expert—or you may feel overwhelmed by all the information that is out there. There are definitely many considerations when assessing the risks of cannabis use in the workplace, as well as the types of accommodations that may be needed if legalization results in more accommodation requests. To truly understand how recreational cannabis use may affect your business, let’s start with the basics.

The Canadian government has announced its intention to legalize non-medical (or recreational) marijuana in the summer of 2018, and many employers have concerns about how legalization will affect the workplace. The regulation of medical marijuana has already forced employers to adapt and create policies concerning marijuana, including marijuana being brought into the workplace, impairment, and accommodations. But marijuana consumption has a decades-old stigma, and since stigmas go hand in hand with misinformation and confusion, it is important for employers to understand the legislation and clearly communicate workplace expectations, responsibilities, and policies to their staff.

We know the benefits and drawbacks of planning and hosting a company event. Many employers and HR professionals also know the liability issues and dangers of serving alcohol to employees. As a responsible and forward-thinking company, you may already have policies in place regarding company events. However, with legalized recreational marijuana just around the corner, employers will need to evaluate whether and how marijuana will be incorporated into their company event policies.