Work-Related Asthma in the Cannabis Industry: Findings From California, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Washington.

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2025, v. 67, no. 10: Work-Related Asthma in the Cannabis Industry: Findings From California, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Washington.
• Journal Article:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Personal Author:
  Pacheco, Michelle ; Fitzsimmons, Kathleen ; Reeb-Whitaker, Carolyn ; Rosenman, Kenneth ; Flattery, Jennifer ; Weinberg, Justine Lew ; Reilly, Mary Jo ; Yiu, Sarah ; Sack, Coralynn ; Todorov, Danièle ; Harrison, Robert ; Dodd, Katelynn E. ; Sparer-Fine, Emily
• Description:
  Describe work-related asthma (WRA) cases and associated exposures in the legalized cannabis industry.
  
  Using data from four state-based surveillance systems (California, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Washington), WRA cases within the cannabis industry were identified and classified as new-onset asthma or work-aggravated asthma.
  
  From legalization dates (1996 in California, 2012 in Massachusetts, 2008 in Michigan, 1998 in Washington) through 2023, 30 WRA cases were identified. A majority were aged 18 to 34 years (66.7%) and were male (60%). Thirteen (52%) cases were new-onset asthma, and 12 (48%) were work-aggravated asthma, with two fatalities. The most frequently reported exposure was plant materials (40.4%), of which 94.7% were cannabis dust and/or marijuana plant. Most cases (69%) worked in indoor cultivation/processing.
  
  Cannabis industry workers are at risk for WRA, emphasizing the need for interventions to address workplace respiratory hazards.
• Content Notes:
  Author manuscript
• Subjects:
  • Humans
  • Adult
  • Male
  • Cannabis
  • Female
  • Adolescent
  • Young Adult
  • Middle Aged
  • Occupational Exposure
  • Asthma, Occupational
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Marijuana
  • respiratory
  • fatal case reports
  • epidemiology
  • prevention
  • surveillance
  • occupational
• Source:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2025, v. 67, no. 10
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000003461
• ISSN:
  1076-2752 ; 1536-5948
• Pubmed ID:
  40561210
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC12628342
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  U60 OH008468/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/ ; U60 OH008487/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/ ; U60 OH008466/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/ ; U60 OH008490/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/ ; K23 ES030725/ES/NIEHS NIH HHSUnited States/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Michigan ; Massachusetts ; Washington
• Pages in Document:
  862-868 (20 pdf pages)
• Volume:
  67
• Issue:
  10
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/261303/cdc_261303_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 357.30 KB]
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e0daeaa11da400a4cab0e16efb457fd9aa2e91711bff545ba4809c1758c88a31c03de1877aa0331b0134d96198f34a1ca058ac8a4f95149a9ef0c1bb2bf180b3