Can cannabis use put your job at risk?

Cannabis use can put your job at risk if it affects your concentration, motivation or safety at work. The risk is mainly there when you use before or during work, or drive to work with cannabis in your blood. How serious the consequences are depends on your job, your pattern of use and the company.

What cannabis does to the mind

During intoxication, cannabis can dampen motivation, as Sucht Schweiz describes. The same source also says that a link between cannabis use and a so-called amotivational syndrome, meaning a lasting loss of drive, is not established. Among some heavy long-term users, memory and concentration are also impaired. According to the same source, these impairments usually recede once use stops.

The prevention site cannabispraevention.de cites concentration as an example. Frequent cannabis use disrupts it, and this can lead to problems. For young people, this affects school and training. Concentration is required in many jobs, which is why this point also matters for adults at work.

Road traffic on the way to work

The road traffic rules apply on the way to work. For cannabis, the limit is 3.5 ng/ml tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in blood serum (section 24a(1a) of the Road Traffic Act (StVG)). A driver of a motor vehicle who reaches this value commits a regulatory offence. The maximum fine is set out in section 24a(3) StVG. Under section 25(1) StVG, a driving ban that can last one to three months is generally also to be ordered for fines under section 24a(1) to (2a) StVG.

If alcohol is added to the THC value, section 24a(2a) StVG applies with a higher fine range (section 24a(3) StVG). Section 24a(4) StVG provides an exception only where the substance comes from taking a medicine as intended, prescribed for a specific illness. Anyone who has medical cannabis prescribed should therefore clarify with the treating doctor how taking it fits with driving and work. The prescription alone says nothing about how strong the effect is in everyday life.

What the employment contract can regulate

Cannabis use and work can be regulated in the employment contract or in company rules. What consequences a violation has depends on the contract, the company and the individual case, and courts decide in disputes. A specialist lawyer for employment law (Fachanwalt für Arbeitsrecht) can classify this. If a warning threatens or you are thinking about dismissal, get advice early and do not sign anything before you have clarified the situation.

Getting help

If you notice that your use is causing problems at work, you can first seek advice outside the company, for example from an addiction counselling centre or the Sucht & Drogen Hotline. Ask at work whether there is a contact person for health or addiction. The article on performance at work or in studies describes typical signs of declining performance.

Particularly sensitive activities

In activities where attention decides the safety of others, use is particularly risky, for example when operating machinery or driving vehicles. The law itself names this point: cannabis associations (Anbauvereinigungen) must, when passing cannabis on, point out among other things restrictions on fitness to drive in road traffic and on operating machinery (section 21(3) no. 4 of the Cannabis Act (KCanG)).

Medical clarification

If problems with concentration, tiredness or memory gaps persist for several weeks, a medical check-up can make sense, because other causes are also possible. Speak openly about your use during it so that the doctor can assess the situation correctly.

Separating use from working hours

Many conflicts arise because use and work run into each other in everyday life. A clear separation helps: do not use during working hours or directly before a shift starts, and do not drive yourself to work after using. A use diary can show patterns that restrict you at work. You can find instructions in the article on the use diary.

What you can do now

1. Do not drive yourself to work after using. This applies especially if alcohol was involved.
2. Do not use during working hours or directly before a shift starts.
3. Check your employment contract for rules on alcohol and drugs.
4. If you have problems, call the Sucht & Drogen Hotline on 01806 313031 (charged, with a fee per call) or contact an addiction counselling centre near you.

You can find further information on use and responsibility under road traffic and prevention and youth protection.