A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that U.S. workers in the food service and hospitality sectors report some of the highest levels of cannabis use, with similar high rates seen in the arts, entertainment, sports, and media fields. The study, published in the *American Journal of Public Health* (AJPH), analyzed data from CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) collected between 2016 and 2020 across 15 states.
Researchers reviewed responses from over 128,000 workers in various sectors and found a significant variation in cannabis use across industries. Food service and hospitality workers showed the highest prevalence, with 20.7% reporting past-month use, while rates were also high among arts and entertainment professionals (17.5%) and construction workers (15.9%). In contrast, those in public administration, utilities, and management of companies had some of the lowest rates, all below 6%.
By occupation, food preparation and serving roles led in cannabis use at 21.9%, followed by those in creative fields like arts, sports, and media (17%) and construction and extraction workers (15.5%). On the other hand, the study found much lower rates of cannabis use among law enforcement (0.5%), healthcare practitioners (4.7%), and education professionals (5.7%).
The CDC authors suggested that these findings could shape future workplace drug policies, especially in high-risk fields such as construction, where safety concerns are paramount. “More research is needed to understand factors driving cannabis use in high-risk industries,” the report noted, highlighting the importance of balancing employee rights with workplace safety.
In light of these findings, the study calls for more targeted workplace policies, including drug testing reform and clearer guidelines for roles where impairment could be hazardous. This new data may aid policymakers in framing cannabis-related workplace regulations in an era where marijuana legalization continues to grow across the U.S.
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