City Of Arvada Participates In National Safety Month

ARVADA, CO — The City of Arvada is participating in National Safety Month. Each week in June, the city has relayed resources that highlight hazard recognition, slips, trips and falls, fatigue and impairment.

This week, the city provided National Safety Council information on how to avoid workplace impairment. The problem is more widespread than many believe, the council said.

Sleep deprivation, prescription drugs, alcohol, marijuana and even emotional distress can cause workplace accidents, the council said.

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The National Safety Council offered the following tips:

• Missing just a few hours of sleep can hamper your driving
abilities. Even if you only drive to and from work, this can
be a serious risk.
• If you regularly have trouble sleeping, talk to your doctor
about getting screened for sleep disorders
• Many prescription drugs, including opioids and others, can
impair your ability to work and drive
• Before starting a new prescription, ask your doctor about
any potential side effects and how it might impact your
ability to work or drive
• Cannabis taken in any form and at any dose can have
varying effects for different amounts of time. Even
if cannabis is legal for recreational purposes in your
state, educate yourself on its impairing effects and your
employer’s policies to stay safe.
• Impairment begins with the first drink. Just because you
have experienced feelings of impairment from alcohol
before does not mean you can overcome them or work
through them.
• Emotional impairment is another serious risk. If something
is causing you stress or anxiety, whether on the job or back
home, it can affect your focus at work and potentially make
you less safe.
• Do not take chances. Nothing – not a doctor’s prescription
or past experience with an impairing substance – is an
excuse to work unsafely

The council also offered the following tips on marijuana use:

• For all workers who drive on the job or just to and from
work, there is no “safe” level of THC for driving or operating
heavy machinery
• There are many unknowns associated with cannabis. Do
not assume that consuming it one way is less impairing or
safer than another way; there is no way to know.
• Cannabis can be consumed in a number of ways, but
whether taken orally through food, drinks or pills, or
inhaled through smoking or vaping, it can put you and
others at risk in the workplace
• Everyone experiences the effects of cannabis differently
and for different amounts of time. Factors like the food
and drink you’ve consumed throughout the day and any
medications you take can change how cannabis affects
you from one day to another.
• When cannabis is used to manage pain, treat it as a
medical substance, not a recreational one. Talk with your
doctor about your options before considering it a solution
to any health problems.