Workplace Cannabis: How Offices Are Replacing Alcohol with Weed in Legal States

From Holiday Parties to Happy Hours: The Shift to Cannabis in the Workplace

For its most recent holiday party, the New York-based marketing agency Mattio Communications organized a unique workshop for its 35 employees: a class on how to roll a joint. The event included a lounge session, a joint-rolling tutorial, and an omakase dinner afterward. Employees even used their company business cards as the crutch—the rolled-up piece of paper at the mouth-end of the joint.

While cannabis remains federally illegal in the U.S., 24 states, including New York, have legalized some form of cannabis use. This wave of legalization, combined with a declining cultural preference for alcohol, has led to a steady rise in cannabis consumption across the country. According to Gallup polls, the trend is most pronounced among Americans aged 18 to 34.

As a result, traditional office happy hours and corporate holiday parties are evolving in states where recreational cannabis is legal. Employees are now lighting up, enjoying THC-infused beverages, or snacking on edibles with coworkers—sometimes even in the office itself.

“People get very giggly on cannabis. It’s a great way to team bond.”

Rosie Mattio, CEO of Mattio Communications

Cannabis-Focused Agencies Lead the Way

Mattio Communications is one of the first cannabis-focused marketing agencies in the industry, with clients including Curio Wellness and TerrAscend. While it’s expected that companies openly embracing cannabis in the workplace operate in the weed business, Mattio believes the trend is spreading across multiple industries.

As cannabis-infused beverages and low-dose products enter the market, they attract a broader range of consumers. Mattio has even discussed hosting a cannabis lounge event for an investment bank’s conference opening. The lounge, formerly the Nat Sherman New York City Townhouse near Grand Central Station, could serve as an alternative to traditional cocktail bars.

“A 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,” Mattio explains. “Instead of doing a standard cocktail bar, they want to do something next-generation. And that’s cannabis.”

Cannabis Beverages as a Workplace Alternative to Alcohol

Jake Bullock, co-founder and CEO of Cann, a low-dose THC-infused beverage company, initially struggled with the social dynamics of cannabis use in professional settings. While interning for a Los Angeles-based cannabis company during business school, Bullock and colleagues would gather in a parking lot for a “4:20 happy hour,” smoking joints together.

However, Bullock found this approach problematic. “One, 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,” he tells Fast Company.

This experience inspired Bullock to co-found Cann in 2019, creating a line of cannabis-infused beverages designed for social and inclusive workplace settings like happy hours and holiday parties. “It may help you with that slight alteration that you need to relax around your boss,” he says.