We use cookies for certain features and to improve your experience. See our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy to learn more

Leafly

Shop legal, local weed.

Open
advertise on Leafly
ShopDeliveryDispensariesDealsStrainsBrandsProductsCBDDoctorsCannabis 101Social impact
  • Sign in
  • Create account
  • Strains
  • Shop
  • Shop
  • Delivery
  • Deals
  • Dispensaries
  • CBD Stores
  • Brands
  • Products
  • Learn
  • Cannabis 101
  • News
  • Leafly Learn
  • Science of cannabis
  • Doctors
  • Social impact
  • Lab partners
  • Download the Leafly App
  • Advertise on Leafly
    • Leafly.comUSA flag
    • Leafly.caCanadian flag
    • Leafly.deGerman flag
  • Help
  • News
  • Lifestyle
  • Strains & products
  • Industry
  • Growing
  • Health
  • Science & tech
  • Leafly USA
  • Podcasts
  • Learn
Industry

This federal agency creates cannabis worker safety plans for free

Dave HowardPublished on January 25, 2023
cannabis-grower-and-consultant-in-greenhouse
NIOSH experts are ready to consult with cannabis companies to create protocols that keep workers safe and healthy. (AdobeStock)

The Jan. 2022 death of cannabis worker Lorna McMurrey brought to light a number of health hazards faced by workers in the legal weed industry. Leafly’s investigative series, Death of a Trimmer, documented the serious safety risks that often go unchecked in today’s industry.

NIOSH officials don’t care that you’re growing marijuana. They just want to keep workers safe.

Although marijuana remains a federally illegal Schedule I drug, there is an agency that’s eager to work with state-licensed cannabis companies to safeguard worker health.

NIOSH, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, is a sub-agency of the Centers for Disease Control. NIOSH officials don’t care if a state-legal company is growing federally-illegal cannabis.

And unlike OSHA, the federal government’s worker-safety enforcement arm, NIOSH is not in the business of penalizing noncompliance. They just want to help companies keep workers safe and healthy.

More about cannabis worker safety

  • Leafly’s cannabis worker safety resource page
  • This federal agency creates weed worker safety plans, for free
  • Colorado’s Guide to Worker Health and Safety in the Cannabis Industry
  • OSHA Factsheet on work-related asthma
  • 2022 medical journal study: Cannabis-related allergies
  • California’s Cal/OSHA resource page for cannabis workers

NIOSH ready to offer custom recommendations

NIOSH offers health hazard evaluations (HHE) at any and all cannabis processing facilities. These can be requested by a group of three or more employees, a union, or the business itself.

“If you have particular issues you have concerns about, we can address that.”

– James Couch, NIOSH

NIOSH experts will offer a set of customized recommendations pertaining to worker safety, either remotely (by having conversations with the relevant parties), or via an in-person visit or visits, during which they may collect samples.

“If they have particular issues they have concerns about, we can address that,” says James Couch, chief of NIOSH’s Hazard Evaluations and Technical Assistance Branch. Couch is one of the federal health experts who in 2015 visited the farm of Tom Lauerman, a longtime cannabis grower and industry leader, to learn and develop worker-safety protocols specific to cannabis.

“We basically work directly with [each] company to do it very individualized,” says Couch. That consultation results in a final report that’s publicly available on the NIOSH website. “And as a part of that, other folks in the industry can kind of take those guidelines and apply it to their own workplace.” The company’s name is not included in the public report, and no proprietary business information is revealed.

farmer-tom-lauerman-working-with-test-equipement-from-NIOSH
NIOSH experts worked with Farmer Tom Lauerman, pictured here, to gather data about the daily activities of a cannabis grower. (Photo: Patrick Bennett)

Regulators can call on NIOSH, too

NIOSH also makes its experts available to work with state agencies on cannabis health and safety protocols. Couch says his organization offers research that “walk through some of the different issues that we have found at facilities, and people can use those to implement different recommendations or guidelines into their own facilities, to hopefully reduce potential exposures.” The agency has worked with several states, he says, including Colorado and California.

NIOSH gets about three or four HHE requests from cannabis facilities or employees annually, which is substantially higher than in the past, pre-legalization. (In the past, most such requests had come from law enforcement organizations handling plants seized during investigations.)

But given the size of the industry, that’s still a tellingly low figure. Couch expects that number to increase over time, as more states legalize and more companies and workers become familiar with the HHE program.

Employees, unions, and cannabis producers can request an HHE here, and they can email HHERequestHelp@cdc.gov to ask questions or gather more information about the program. The agency’s final HHE reports can be searched and reviewed here.

Shop highly rated dispensaries near you

Showing you dispensaries near
See all dispensaries
  • Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
  • Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
  • Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
  • Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
  • See all dispensaries
See all dispensaries
Lorna McMurreyNIOSHworker safety
Dave Howard
Dave Howard
Dave Howard is a national magazine editor and award-winning author. His most recent book is Chasing Phil: The Adventures of Two Undercover Agents With the World's Most Charming Con Man.
View Dave Howard's articles

The latest in Industry

  • Delivered Inc.: A dispensary at your doorstep image
    Delivered Inc.: A dispensary at your doorstep
    Leafly Staff
  • Green Flash: Delivering Boston’s cannabis future image
    Green Flash: Delivering Boston’s cannabis future
    Leafly Staff
  • Celebrate 420 weekend with cannabis, community, and creativity at MARY FEST NYC image
    Celebrate 420 weekend with cannabis, community, and creativity at MARY FEST NYC
    Leafly Staff
  • America’s top cannabis events of 4/20 2025 image
    America’s top cannabis events of 4/20 2025
    Amelia Williams
Get good reads, local deals, and strain spotlights delivered right to your inbox.

By providing us with your email address, you agree to Leafly's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.



Stay In Touch

Receive updates on new products, special offers, and industry news.

Something went wrong, please try again.

By providing us with your email address, you agree to Leafly’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Leafly mobile app
Get high for less.
Download the Leafly app.
Download Leafly: Marijuana Reviews on the App StoreDownload Leafly Marijuana Reviews on Google Play

Business Solutions
  • List your store
  • List your CBD store
  • List your brand
  • List your practice
  • Business log in

About Leafly
  • About us
  • Careers
  • Newsroom
  • Investor relations
  • Contact us
  • FAQs
  • Accessibility

Dispensaries in
  • Los Angeles
  • Seattle
  • Portland
  • San Francisco
  • Toronto
  • Detroit

Privacy & Terms
  • Terms of use
  • Commercial terms of use
  • Privacy policy
  • Do not sell my personal information

* Statements made on this website have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Information provided by this website or this company is not a substitute for individual medical advice.


© 2025 Leafly, LLC
Leafly and the Leafly logo are registered trademarks of Leafly, LLC. All Rights Reserved.