Incident led to temporary closure of outpatient department, two emergency cases
An employee at Hawke's Bay Hospital has been sentenced to a three-month home detention after sharing a cannabis-laced cake that put two of her colleagues in the Emergency Department, according to reports.
The employee, 54, was a member of the hospital's outpatients team at the time of the incident, 1News reported, citing the Hastings District Court.
The court found that she made a butter substance with cannabis and provided it to a friend who baked a cake, which she shared at a work meal.
Numerous colleagues fell ill after consuming the cake, including two colleagues who were taken to the Emergency Department after suffering effects from the cake.
One employee ended up in a situation where she couldn't move her arms, according to the court, as reported by 1News.
"At one point, she was anxious because of what was happening to her," the court said. "Ultimately, she ended up in a wheelchair, being taken to ED."
The hospital's entire outpatient unit also had to be shuttered for the day because of the incident, the court added, which also found that the employee who gave the cake regularly consumed cannabis.
She has already resigned from the hospital, according to 1News.
She was charged with administering a Class B drug, namely cannabis oil, to a person, with a sentencing start point of 12 months' imprisonment.
It was reduced, however, to a three-month home detention after the court recognised her very early guilty plea.
"I do think you are very remorseful about this and you, of course, you have no prior convictions," the court said as quoted by 1News.
Substances in workplaces
Cannabis is the most prevalent substance detected in workplace drug tests, accounting for 59.1% of cases in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to data from The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA).
Other prevalent substances detected include amphetamine-type substances and opioids.
The TDDA urged employers to update drug policies at work, train managers to recognise impairment, and ensure regular and random drug testing to maintain workplace safety.
"Employers need to stay ahead of these trends, enforce policies consistently, and provide education to their workforce to prevent harm," said TDDA CEO Glenn Dobson in a previous statement.
