From Recommendation to Reality: The Protection of Cannabis Workers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12/1/2023
 
Contact:   
Brenda Quintana, MassCOSH Labor-Community Training Coordinator and Organizer
brenda.q@masscosh.org
857-301-7763
  
From Recommendation to Reality: The Protection of Cannabis Workers

BOSTON Regarding the protection of cannabis workers, the Boston Globe got it right, said the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health (MassCOSH) in a statement released today. Health and safety regulations are urgently needed for this emerging industry. This is exactly what cannabis workers and occupational safety and health activists have long identified as necessary. It took Lorna McMurrey’s death at age 27 to shine a light on working conditions that caused the first cannabis occupational asthma death nationwide and uncounted illnesses among this workforce. This coverage from the Boston Globe arrives in response to a recent investigative report issued by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which looked into the circumstances of Lorna’s tragic death. The report provides six recommendations for the cannabis industry, which are intended to mitigate the impact of hazardous materials, including asthmagens, on workers and monitor them for early symptoms.

First and foremost, we want to recognize the importance of continuing to spotlight and remember Lorna McMurrey and the tragedy of her workplace death and its impact and resonance in the cannabis industry and the broader working community. Her story has connected with countless cannabis workers who do not feel safe at their jobs. The Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) should establish opportunities to hear directly from workers who know first-hand what it is like to work in this industry and share their insights without fear of losing their jobs.

Additionally, the CCC must establish a process to hold employers accountable with enforceable standards, while also offering assistance in developing effective health and safety programs. “These recommendations are extremely important, but the only way to truly ensure that the industry will adopt them is to take immediate action to ensure they become requirements, not suggestions,” said Brenda Quintana, Labor-Community Training Coordinator and Organizer at MassCOSH.

The Massachusetts cannabis industry surpassed $5 billion in gross sales this year. On their own, industry employers have not used those monies to protect the staff that grow, harvest, process, prepare and deliver their products. The Massachusetts DPH offers many strong recommendations, but we need to move from recommendations to concrete, enforceable regulations. OSHA cannot currently address these specific industry needs. Additionally, we cannot expect that companies will simply come into voluntary compliance with these recommendations. The Cannabis Control Commission “declined to comment on whether commissioners would seek further regulation.”

Massachusetts has rich resources to help. Between universities with ventilation engineers, industrial hygienists and safety professionals, occupational medicine clinics, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Occupational Health Surveillance Program (which investigated and wrote the needed steps for protection), and unions and advocates, our commonwealth has the ability and expertise to make sure that workers get what they need to survive and be healthy in these workplaces.

MassCOSH is committed to working alongside the Cannabis Control Commission, the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards and the legislature towards the implementation of enforceable health and safety regulations. The next questions are when and how.