Federal cannabis rescheduling is imminent, yet state and local rules, workplace safety, and real-world impairment management remain complex. As perceptions and laws around marijuana change, the risk for employers - especially in safety-sensitive industries - rises. This white paper explains how rescheduling impacts workplace risk management, impairment protocols, and the need for targeted supervisor and employee education.

The Safety Challenge in a Changing Legal Landscape

• While the federal government may soon recognize medical marijuana's benefits by moving it to Schedule III, cannabis will remain controlled - as will employer obligation to provide a safe, drug-free environment.
• Workplace impairment risks related to marijuana remain significant, particularly for jobs affecting public safety, machinery, and critical infrastructure.

Documentation and Reasonable Suspicion

• With traditional drug tests becoming less definitive in an era of legal cannabis, employers must rely more on behavioral observation, digital documentation, and real-time reporting.
• Supervisor training in impairment recognition (regardless of substance) and technology-enabled reporting platforms are now essential workplace tools.

Employee Education and Reporting

• Regular employee training on drug policy, impairment risks, and confidential reporting channels ensures understanding, reduces stigma, and fosters a culture of safety and accountability.

Best Practice Recommendations

• Update Supervisor Training: Focus on real-time impairment signs, legal nuance, and defensible intervention practices.
• Establish Anonymous Hotlines: Promote early intervention and peer-driven reporting without stigma or retaliation.
• Review Testing Protocols: Shift from a "zero tolerance" approach to one balancing compliance, safety, disability law, and changing legalization trends.
• Enhance Employee Education: Foster a safety-forward, informed workforce that can recognize and report potential impairment.

Conclusion

Federal rescheduling is not the end of employer vigilance. Rather, evolving cannabis policy highlights the need for modernized, holistic safety procedures, proactive education, and technology to ensure both compliance and genuine worker protection.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. DENTONS. (2025, AUG 11). "RESCHEDULING MISCONCEPTIONS AND RESPONSES"
2. MORITZ COLLEGE OF LAW. (2022-2025). "FEDERAL MARIJUANA RESCHEDULING TIMELINE & ANALYSIS"
3. PBS NEWSHOUR. (2025, AUG 12). "WILL TRUMP CHANGE FEDERAL MARIJUANA POLICY? HERE'S WHAT TO KNOW"
4. ADVANCED TRAINING PRODUCTS. (2025). "CANNABIS RESCHEDULING IS INEVITABLE - ARE EMPLOYERS READY FOR THE COMING EMPLOYMENT LAW REVOLUTION?"