Legal access to medical cannabis is associated with a measurable fall in health-related workplace absences, according to new research published in the Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health.
The US-based study found that medical cannabis laws corresponded with a 6.9% reduction in sickness absence overall — with the strongest effects among workers in physically demanding jobs where chronic pain and strain are common.
Biggest gains in manual and industrial roles
Manual labourers recorded a 39% reduction in missed work days linked to health issues. Industrial machine operators saw a 33% fall, health service workers 32%, and farm workers 18%.
The authors said the results were most pronounced in occupations and industries — including manufacturing, agriculture and construction — where conditions suited to cannabis-based treatment, such as chronic pain from physical work, are widespread.
"The absenteeism-reducing effects of medical cannabis decriminalization were notable in occupations and industries where conditions more predisposed to cannabis treatment are prevalent," the study noted.
Therapeutic use, not recreational reform
Recreational legalisation, by contrast, showed no statistically significant effect on health-related absenteeism. While the estimated impact of recreational reform was directionally positive, it was not measured with enough precision to draw firm conclusions.
That distinction matters for policymakers weighing medical access against broader liberalisation. The researchers concluded that medical cannabis laws appear to reduce sickness absence where therapeutic use is most relevant, whereas recreational frameworks produce a more mixed picture depending on whether analysts focus on health absences, workplace injuries, or wider labour-market outcomes.
What it means for the UK
The findings arrive as debate continues over the economic as well as clinical case for expanding medical cannabis access in Britain, where most patients still rely on private clinics rather than NHS pathways.
Separate analysis published in 2025 by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, commissioned by Curaleaf Clinic, suggested that wider NHS adoption could help thousands of people with long-term conditions return to work. That report estimated NHS integration could add £4.5 billion to the UK economy over five years and £13.3 billion over a decade.
Dr Simon Erridge, director of research at Curaleaf Clinic, said chronic illness often removes people from the workforce and triggers wider social and psychological harm. "Medical cannabis isn't just a health issue — it's an economic one too," he said at the time.
US evidence cannot be mapped directly onto UK labour law or prescribing rules. But the study adds to a growing body of research suggesting that regulated medical access may help some workers manage conditions that would otherwise keep them off sick — particularly in roles where musculoskeletal pain and physical strain drive absence.
