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Legal Cannabis and Workplace Safety Considerations

Tuesday, May 17
8:00 - 9:15 a.m.

As laws protecting adult use of both medical and recreational marijuana use spread, it is critical to understand how this impacts drug testing in safety-sensitive positions, particularly when used in lieu of opiates for chronic pain or PTSD management. This session provides an overview of the legal issues surrounding the legal use of cannabis by workers and how this can affect workplace safety and OSHA/MSHA compliance. Additional items discussed include changes in laws at the state and federal level, as well as best practices for reconciling HR/safety programs relating to cannabis.

 

Adele Abrams, President, Law Office of Adele L. Abrams PC

Adele is an attorney, safety professional and trainer who is president of the Law Office of Adele L. Abrams P.C. in Beltsville, MD, Charleston, WV, and Denver, CO, a multi-attorney firm focusing on safety, health and employment law nationwide. Adele is an Associate Safety Professional (ASP), and a Certified Mine Safety Professional (CMSP). She provides consultation, safety audits and training services, and represents employers in OSHA, MSHA and employment law matters. She also instructs on employment law at University of Colorado and Catholic University. She is a regular columnist on legal, employment, mine and occupational safety/health issues, and is co-author of several books related to mining, construction, employment law, and occupational safety and health. She is a member of the Maryland, DC and Pennsylvania Bars, the U.S. District Courts of Maryland, DC and Tennessee, the U.S. Court of Appeals, DC, 3rd and 4th Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court. She is a graduate of the George Washington University’s National Law Center, and earned her B.S. in Journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.

In 2017, she received the NSC’s Distinguished Service to Safety Award, and she is currently an NSC Delegate and CEO of the Chesapeake Region Safety Council. She is a multiple recipient of the ASSP SPY award at the chapter, practice specialty and regional level.