At a time when Slovenia is facing increasing challenges in the field of occupational health and safety, the Freedom Movement (Gibanje Svoboda) and the Left (Levica) parties now seem keen to make matters even worse. They want to ban testing for THC in the blood during regular medical examinations. This move, which the proponents are trying to pass off as “equalising the rights of employees” and compare to the regulation of blood alcohol testing, is, in fact, a recipe for chaos, reduced safety, and it also shows complete disregard for the profession.
The profession is appalled by the proposal and is unanimous in its criticism of it. The Association of Occupational, Traffic, and Sports Medicine of Slovenia has reacted sharply, as banning testing would prevent the timely detection of cannabis abuse and addiction, which directly threatens safety in the workplace. “Any harmful use or addiction has a negative impact on health and safety at work,” said Dr Andrea Margan, a specialist in occupational medicine at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana (UKC LJ), as reported by one of the mainstream media outlets. She warned that laboratory results are crucial for proving abstinence and fitness for work.
The transport section of the Chamber of Crafts and Small Businesses of Slovenia (OZS) and the Association for Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases are also up in arms, publicly opposing legalisation because they see the proposal as encouraging the use of cannabis, which can lead to serious health complications.
The experts are appalled
The criticism did not stop at occupational medicine. Many described the proposal as “bringing about bureaucratic confusion and security risks” that only serve the political agenda of the ruling parties. Instead of truly regulating limited personal use (the new law allows the cultivation of up to four plants at home and possession of up to 150 grams of cannabis), the law ignores the fact that THC remains in the body for weeks after use, making it difficult to distinguish between occasional use and chronic abuse. Proponents, such as Member of Parliament Sara Žibrat from the Freedom Movement party, defend themselves with arguments about prevention and comparisons with alcohol, but this is a diversionary tactic – alcohol is metabolised quickly, while cannabis is not, which means that employers would lose a key tool for protecting employees in high-risk jobs, such as drivers, soldiers, and police officers. Experts warn that this is a direct undermining of medical examinations, which are intended to determine fitness for work, not “control over legal drugs,” as the Left party is trying to make it seem.
This leads to ruin
The negative consequences of this proposal are catastrophic and demonstrate the profound irresponsibility of the Freedom Movement and the Left party, who drafted it without serious consideration of the subject matter. Without THC testing, the number of traffic accidents would increase, even though there is already zero tolerance for substances – drivers under the influence would endanger innocent people, leading to more fatalities and injuries. Productivity and safety in the workplace would decline, as addicts or chronic users would remain undetected, which could cause accidents in industry, the military, or the police.
This would put an additional strain on the healthcare system with the treatment of addiction and injuries, and young people could see the law as a green light for experimentation, which would increase the number of chronic non-communicable diseases. The irresponsible behaviour of the proponents is obvious – instead of following the will of the voters in the 2024 referendum, who supported limited use, they are exploiting it for populist points, ignoring warnings from experts and risking lives for votes, which shows a complete lack of responsibility towards society.
A. H.
