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For its most recent holiday party, the marketing agency Mattio Communications held a workshop in New York City for its 35 employees. It was a class to learn how to roll a joint.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe went to the lounge, had someone come teach us how to roll a joint, and then went out for omakase afterward,\u201d CEO Rosie Mattio tells Fast Company<\/em>.\u00a0\u201cAnd we used our company business cards as the crutch in the joint.\u201d (A crutch<\/a> is the rolled-up piece of paper at the mouth-end of the joint.)<\/p>\n While cannabis is still federally illegal in the U.S., 24\u00a0 states\u2014including New York, where Mattio Communications is located\u2014now allow some form of legal use. Driven by increasing legalization and a declining cultural affinity toward alcohol<\/a>, cannabis use has been steadily growing across the U.S. in recent years, with Gallup polls<\/a> suggesting it’s catching on most with Americans ages 18 to 34. <\/p>\n As a result, office happy hours<\/a> and corporate holiday parties<\/a> are changing in states where recreational weed is legal, with employees lighting up, enjoying THC libations, or snacking on gummies and edibles with coworkers\u2014sometimes even in the office itself<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople get very giggly on cannabis,\u201d Mattio says. \u201cIt’s a great way to team bond.\u201d<\/p>\n Mattio Communications is one of the first cannabis-focused marketing agencies in the industry, with clients including cannabis companies Curio Wellness<\/a> and TerrAscend<\/a>. While it\u2019s unsurprising that companies openly embracing cannabis in the workplace are in the weed business themselves, Mattio sees it catching on across a number of different industries, as cannabis-infused beverages and low-dose products hit the market and attract a different kind of consumer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mattio\u2019s been in talks with an investment bank that has shown interest in using a cannabis lounge, formerly the Nat Sherman New York City Townhouse near Grand Central Station, for the opening party of one of their conferences, \u201cto do something a little different.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA fashion designer in New York was thinking about doing their fall after-party at the cannabis lounge downstairs because the store is right off Bryant Park, the center of Fashion Week,\u201d Mattio says. \u201cInstead of doing a standard cocktail bar, they want to do something next-generation. And that’s cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n When Cann CEO Jake Bullock was in business school, he briefly interned for an L.A.-based cannabis company. \u201cWe had our own version of a 4:20 happy hour\u2014we’d go out into the parking lot and smoke a joint,\u201d he tells Fast Company<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n But it didn\u2019t work for a number of reasons. \u201cOne, you got way too high, so the rest of the day was totally shot. Two, it didn’t feel as social as drinking a beverage would,\u201d he notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n This sparked the idea for Cann, the low-dose THC-infused beverage company Bullock co-founded in 2019. Bullock sees cannabis-infused beverages as a social and inclusive substitute for alcohol in workplace settings, such as happy hours and holiday parties.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt may help you with that slight alteration that you need to relax around your boss,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it won\u2019t change your behavior in a way you’ll regret the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n As attitudes toward cannabis shift, alcohol sales have dropped<\/a>. The \u201cthree-martini lunch\u201d is now mostly a relic of the past. And cigarette breaks with the boss\u2014which research has shown can put workers on a career fast track<\/a>, thanks to the face time\u2014are an increasingly rare habit, as marijuana usage surpasses traditional cigarette usage in the U.S.<\/p>\n Gen Zers are at the forefront of this shift: 62% use cannabis or THC to manage daily stress, compared with 61% who use alcohol, according to new research<\/a> from Drug Rehab USA.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAlcohol was really the only option for so long, but there are so many better options now, including Cann, for those midweek occasions,\u201d Bullock says. \u201cMaybe you want to be social, take the edge off,\u201d he explains, but you also don\u2019t want to possibly suffer a hangover from after-work drinks with coworkers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mattio would also rather her employees enjoy a couple of joints or a cannabis beverage on a weeknight than partake in an alcohol-fueled night out.\u00a0\u201cIn terms of productivity, it’s a lot easier to go out, smoke, or take a few edibles, and come into work on time the next morning,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Human resources departments are still hesitant to recommend one over the other. <\/p>\n \u201cAs a general rule, there is no real difference between getting high and getting drunk with your boss,\u201d Donna Obstfeld, founder of the HR practice DOHR<\/a>, tells Fast Company<\/em>. \u201cBoth should be avoided.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n However, \u201cwhat people do in their own time is up to them. As long as they are not putting themselves or colleagues at risk, there is little an employer can do,\u201d Obstfeld concedes. \u201cEspecially if the products aren\u2019t illegal and don\u2019t negatively impact performance.\u201d<\/p>\n Will joints and bong hits become as common as beer and wine in the office in the near future? Mattio believes so\u2014and that the workplace will be better for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI go to a lot of cannabis events, and I have never seen anybody falling over drunk the way you sometimes see at the end of a holiday party,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n The risks of getting too high, on the other hand? \u201cMaybe you giggle too much,\u201d she adds. \u201cOr eat a little too much food.\u201d<\/p>\nBetter than booze?<\/h2>\n
There’s little HR can do<\/h2>\n