While the federal government has pushed forward the initial target date of July 1 for legalizing recreational cannabis to Oct. 17, employers will still be busy trying to prepare for all of the issues they’ll have to deal with.
Benefits Canada has been covering the issue since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party first committed to legalizing marijuana on the campaign trail in 2015. The discussion has evolved significantly over the past three years, so there’s been a great deal for the health care, benefits and human resources industries to learn about. Here’s a roundup of Benefits Canada‘s coverage of the topic:
Coverage in benefits plans:
- Sanofi survey finds plan sponsors split on issue of medical cannabis
- Medical marijuana patients may use less than prescribers dole out
- Medical questions, regulations create confusion for medical pot coverage
- CLHIA warns high prices for recreational marijuana will push users to medical system
- What’s the impact of medical marijuana on patients, drug plans?
- Six practical considerations for medical marijuana coverage in ASO plans
HR, legal issues:
- A pot primer for plan sponsors
- Navigating the ’50 shades of grey’ surrounding marijuana legalization and the workplace
- Canadian employers concerned about implications of cannabis legalization
- More guidance on substance use policies required as pot legalization nears: report
- Workplace safety leading HR issue as marijuana legalization approaches: HRPA
- Key steps to implementing a policy addressing marijuana in the workplace
- Key questions for plan sponsors as marijuana legalization approaches
- Employers concerned about ‘Wild West’ surrounding marijuana legalization: HRPA
- Tips for employers to prepare for legalization of recreational marijuana
- Sounding Board: How to deal with medical marijuana in the workplace
Plan sponsors in the news:
- Medical marijuana cases highlight need for precise wording in benefits plans
- Veteran Affairs urged to better manage drug plan, marijuana costs
- Construction union local introduces medical marijuana benefit
- Employers, benefits plans intervene in appeal over medical marijuana coverage
- N.S. court strikes down human rights decision over medical pot
- Benefits plan must cover medical pot, human rights commission rules
- No medical condition limitations for OPSEU’s new marijuana coverage
- Shoppers, Loblaw introduce medical marijuana into benefits plan
- New medical marijuana policy for veterans cuts reimbursement allowance by seven grams
How the industry is reacting:
- League launches online toolkit ahead of cannabis legalization
- Cubic Health launches risk management program for medical pot
- Reformulary Group to develop cannabis formulary
- Sun Life adding medical marijuana coverage to group benefits plans
- Green Shield Canada to offer more options for medical marijuana coverage
Also check out Benefits Canada‘s free webinar:
Webinar: A primer on cannabis legalization and benefits plans