Legalizing medical marijuana appears to be associated with reduced rates of employees missing work—particularly in trades like manufacturing and agriculture where workers are more likely to experience symptoms such as pain that cannabis can help treat—according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of Southern Maine and University of Georgia looked at the potential impact of state-level marijuana reform on workplace absenteeism, analyzing federal data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics from 1990 to 2025.
The study, published in the Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, found that, overall, legalizing medical cannabis is linked to a 6.9 percent decrease in rates of employees calling out of work due to illness, injury or other medical issues.
Notably, the study—which involved a total dataset covering more than 20 million workers between the ages of 18 and 61—assessed the relationship between cannabis policy and workplace absenteeism for different types of work and industries.
“The absenteeism-reducing effects of medical cannabis decriminalization are concentrated in occupations and industries in which chronic pain, physical strain, and job-related stress are plausibly important determinants of missed work,” the study said. “Medical cannabis laws appear to reduce sickness absence in settings where therapeutic use is
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