Sask. potash worker to remain on suspension over nightly medical cannabis use

A union welder at a potash mine in Saskatchewan will remain on suspension after refusing to give up his nightly toke of medical marijuana, following the ruling of a provincial labour arbitrator.

A union welder at a potash mine in Saskatchewan will remain on suspension after refusing to give up his nightly toke of medical marijuana, following the ruling of a provincial labour arbitrator.

Labour arbitrator Daniel Ish says global fertilizer giant Nutrien was justified in keeping Lee Pepper out of work at the Vanscoy potash mine until the company was satisfied the cannabis he used for sleep would not leave him impaired on the job site the next day.

Pepper has worked at the mine since 2010.

In the recently-released decision based on a series of November hearings, Ish writes that Nutrien and Pepper both produced conflicting — but legitimate — medical accounts of the duration of effects from THC.

The two differing accounts underscore the still-unsettled debate over the safe use of cannabis following its legalization in 2018.

Pepper’s family doctor of 12 years signed off on his prescription and wrote a letter to the human resources department at the mine saying his patient was directed to smoke pot before bed on work nights to help him sleep, and that this would pose no risk to safety at work.

Nutrien consulted its own doctor, who testified it would take 24 hours for the drug to clear his system enough to return to work.