Weed at work: How HR leaders should handle the legalization of marijuana

Published 4 Min Read

The workplace conversation around substance use has always been about how to prevent it. But as marajuana becomes legalized across the U.S., are HR leaders equipped to change their stance?  

In 2012, Washington and Colorado were the first states to legalize the recreational use of cannabis. Since then, more and more states have petitioned for the same rights and many have won. As of April 2022, marijuana has been decriminalized in 31 states in accordance with the Marijuana Policy Project, which states that low-levels of marijuana possession are exempt from the ​​possibility of jail time for first-time offenses. Twenty of those states, as well as Washington D.C. and Guam, have made the recreational use of the substance entirely legal. 

Paola Peralta
Associate Editor

Paola Peralta is an Associate Editor at Employee Benefit News and has been with the team for five years. She is a proud UCF journalism graduate who got her start through a Dow Jones News Fund … Read full bio


For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.


More From Employee Benefit News

Sign Up Form

Login Modal Form