With the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act expected to come into force in the near future, law firm Webber Wentzel has delved into the impact this may have on mine site health and safety and the implications for policies related to substance abuse.

The private use of cannabis by adults was decriminalised in South Africa in 2018, with key provisions in the incoming Act including public restrictions, exceeding legal limits, dealing, transporting of cannabis and expungement of criminal records.

Webber Wentzel employment law specialist Lizle Louw suggests that cannabis be treated in the same way as alcohol on mine sites, with a zero-tolerance approach that denies access of workers on to the site if they test positive for cannabis.

However, mining companies will need to decide whether and how to distinguish between actively intoxicated persons, whose working ability would be influenced by cannabis, and those who may have traces of cannabis in their system from weekend or leave-time use, for example.

Louw explains that a zero-tolerance approach against actual intoxication is still possible but must be based on rational and justifiable risk-based assessments.

She adds that policies and testing need to distinguish between testing for the presence of cannabis or current, actual intoxication and consider whether zero tolerance can be sustained or whether other statutory limits can be applied.

Policies related to cannabis also need to be consistent with other intoxication rules, Louw stresses.

Webber Wentzel occupational health and safety specialist Kate Collier recommends that, in formulating new substance abuse or intoxication policies, as well as testing protocols, mining companies should take into consideration the nature of roles at the workplace and the nature of the workplace overall to determine risk, as well as the overall statutory health and safety requirements that the site has.

She also emphasises the importance of risk-based assessments for a consistent approach to intoxication policies, which should be approved by committees before publishing.