One of the questions arising out of changes to cannabis laws in Canada and Ontario has been their general impact on the workplace and more specifically in regards to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).

The WSIB has issued a policy providing guidance on when entitlements to cannabis will be approved by the WSIB for workplace related injury and illness.

The guidelines come into effect March 1, 2019.

I have prepared a summary for you below. The full policy can be found on this link to the WSIB website.

WSIB Medical Cannabis Guidelines

A worker with a workplace injury or illness may be entitled to medical cannabis coverage provided all of the following criteria are met: 

• A worker has one of the five designated work-related medical conditions in the policy
  • neuropathic pain
  • pain and other symptoms in palliative care
  • spasticity resulting from a spinal cord injury
  • chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting
  • loss of appetite associated with HIV or AIDS.
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• An appropriate clinical assessment of the worker has been conducted.
• The worker’s treating health professional authorizes medical cannabis to treat the designated condition. 
• The worker has exhausted conventional treatments for the designated condition.
• The benefits of medical cannabis treatment for the worker outweighs the risks.
• The dose and route of administration authorized for the worker are appropriate.
• The worker has a valid document or a written order for medical cannabis.

As an overall guidance, the position of the WSIB is that:
Medical cannabis is not necessary, appropriate, or sufficient health care treatment for most medical conditions due to the lack of strong and consistent evidence of therapeutic efficacy, and the known harms of cannabis use. However, in limited circumstances, medical cannabis may be necessary, appropriate, and sufficient health care treatment as a result of a work- related injury/disease. 

If entitlement to medical cannabis is allowed:

The WSIB will pay for the reasonable costs of medical cannabis and, where appropriate, a vapourizer. 

The WSIB will closely monitor and regularly review entitlement to ensure medical cannabis treatment remains necessary, appropriate, and sufficient for the work-related condition. 

You should consider that cannabis treatment is one of many options for insurers, including the WSIB. With the changes in cannabis laws and the introduction of this WSIB policy, employers can reasonably expect group insurance plans to look at covering medical cannabis use.

It is important as an employer that you carefully consider an employee request seeking coverage through an insurance plan or WSIB for medically required cannabis use. 

In regard to recreational cannabis, you should also be aware that an employee may seek accommodation for recreational cannabis use that should be evaluated under the same policies you have in place for other legal substances which cause impairment, such as alcohol.

As always, each situation needs to be assessed and managed on its own merits and take into account both the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code.