Saúde e Segurança Ocupacional no Cultivo da Canábis Medicinal

• Autor(a) principal: Salgado, Vânia Cristina Cardoso
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/11110/2711
• topic: Cannabis; Occupational Risk; Workers; Danger; Safety

The use of cannabis for medicinal purposes follows humanity and its evolution throughout history. The rediscovery of its therapeutic properties is gaining more and more notoriety, making it possible to treat diseases and improve the quality of life for many people. In 2017, the cannabis industry employed more than 120,000 people from cultivation to distribution, with projections of hiring almost 300,000 workers in the next 2 years. Although there are some detailed investigations on the cultivation of cannabis, there are few studies that address the issue of occupational health and safety or that manage to give clear indications. The objective of this investigation is to evaluate the impact caused to workers who develop their activity in the medical cannabis industry both nationally and internationally. The data collection came from the application of an online questionnaire to investigate sociodemographic data, about organizations, the risk factors present and about the preventive measures adopted. This survey was made available to Occupational Safety, Hygiene and Health Technicians, as well as other workers directly linked to the cultivation of medical cannabis and the sample size consisted of 26 valid questionnaires. Through this investigation we concluded that in the industry in question, there is a predominance of risk factors related to dust, pesticides and chemicals, stress to thermal environments, problems with working postures and musculoskeletal injuries. Many participants claimed that most organizations are made up of men, have more than one type of authorization and that they cultivate indoors. Based on the results, it is considered necessary to develop guides or even checklists dedicated to this area in Portugal, to improve the health, safety and well-being programs of workers. Such as the guide that was created by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.