Cannabis in the Workplace

Tony Rianna
Jan 20
3 min read

Cannabis use is becoming increasingly relevant in professional environments, and the conversation around it is overdue. Since medical cannabis was legalised in the UK in 2018, more people are receiving prescriptions for chronic conditions, pain, anxiety and other health needs, but many are still afraid to tell their employers about it, or worried about the consequences of doing so.

This isn’t just about policy. It’s about awareness.

People who legally use cannabis as prescribed are still experiencing stigma, outdated HR policies and fear of discrimination at work. More than 80 % of medical cannabis patients reported stigma at work despite having a legal prescription, according to recent data.

The problem is not that cannabis use is rampant or out of control. The problem is that many organisations don’t yet understand what medical cannabis means in practice, how it interacts with modern workplace rights, or how to accommodate it responsibly.

Under the Equality Act 2010, employees with medical conditions — including those requiring legal cannabis — may be protected from discrimination, and an employer may be obliged to make reasonable adjustments. Despite this, many drug-testing and zero-tolerance policies haven’t caught up with reality, leaving patients uncertain or at risk of unfair treatment.

Legal protections and workplace reality are not yet aligned. Currently, organisations still carry outdated assumptions about cannabis that are rooted in prohibition-era thinking — not modern clinical practice. This disconnect can result in practitioners being unfairly disciplined, forced to hide their medicine, or even leave a job due to misunderstanding about their prescription and rights.

Corporate leaders, HR teams, and wellbeing professionals are now being faced with a new set of questions:

What is medical cannabis? Is it simply a recreational drug, or a legitimate prescribed medicine with real therapeutic benefits and legal status?
How should workplaces adapt policies? From drug testing to reasonable adjustments, the way organisations handle prescription medication must evolve.
Where is the balance between safety and dignity? Good policy protects both the health and safety of the individual and the organisation without unnecessary stigma or discrimination.

It’s important to stress that reasonable adjustments don’t mean unrestricted use of medication on site or during hours when safety-critical tasks are involved. Risk assessments, confidentiality, and clear communication are vital. What it does mean is respecting that prescription medicines — including cannabis-based products — are legitimate treatments and should be treated like any other medication in the workplace.

This isn’t about encouraging cannabis use in corporate settings. It’s about bridging the growing gap between traditional HR policies and the lived experience of patients who are part of today’s workforce.

The modern workplace is changing. Conversations around mental health, neurodiversity, chronic pain, invisible illness and disability are becoming more nuanced and informed. Cannabis needs to be part of that evolution, not stuck outside it.

If you lead people, manage policy, or are responsible for wellbeing in your organisation and this feels relevant, let’s talk about it. Not from ideology. Not from judgment. But from fact, responsibility, and real human experience.