Top OSHA Violations: 3 Key Lessons for Safer Cannabis Workplaces

Why OSHA’s Most Cited Standards Still Matter and How Cannabis Employers Can Take Action

Every year, OSHA’s Top 10 Most Cited Violations list sounds the alarm for safety professionals across industries. The cannabis sector is no exception. From cultivators and processors to dispensary owners and delivery operators, cannabis businesses face unique hazards—and unique pressures to stay compliant in an evolving regulatory environment.

But with growth comes risk. OSHA’s 2024 data reveals a familiar pattern: the same safety violations appear year after year, from inadequate fall protection to poor hazard communication and faulty lockout/tagout procedures. Despite awareness and resources, critical mistakes still happen—and in cannabis workplaces, where tasks often involve machinery, chemicals, and repetitive labor, those risks can escalate quickly.

This article breaks down three key lessons cannabis employers and safety managers can draw from OSHA’s latest top violations to build safer, more resilient operations in 2025 and beyond.

Lesson 1: Repeated Violations Signal Deeper Systemic Breakdowns

The recurrence of OSHA’s top violations is not due to a lack of awareness. Fall protection has led the list for the 14th consecutive year, with over 7,000 citations in 2024 alone. These aren’t exotic or complex mistakes—they’re often due to familiar on-the-ground failures: workers climbing without harnesses, poorly anchored lanyards, or guards left off high platforms.

In cannabis operations, where workers may trim plants at height, maintain overhead lighting systems, or conduct rooftop HVAC inspections, fall protection protocols are essential—but can be inconsistently enforced.

Similarly, hazard communication remains in the top three OSHA citations. Cannabis cultivators handle a variety of chemicals: pesticides, fertilizers, cleaning agents, and solvents. If safety data sheets are buried in file drawers or training is rushed due to seasonal turnover, teams may lack the information they need when it matters most.

The same systemic oversight happens with lockout/tagout (LOTO) violations, which protect workers servicing equipment. In processing facilities with commercial grinders, extraction systems, or HVAC units, LOTO isn’t optional—it’s lifesaving. And yet, even when procedures are in place, stressors like labor shortages, tight deadlines, or limited oversight can lead workers to cut corners.

What all of this signals is a deeper truth: safety systems tend to fail under pressure. It’s not that the rules aren’t known—it’s that the real-world conditions cause them to break down. That’s a red flag for safety leaders.

Lesson 2: Use the OSHA Top 10 as a Roadmap to Your Workplace’s Blind Spots

Each citation on OSHA’s list is an opportunity not just to fix an issue, but to re-evaluate your organization’s safety culture, processes, and tools.

Ask the following questions based on the most common violations:

• Are fall hazards being addressed proactively in your cultivation or maintenance areas?
• Do workers consistently wear the correct PPE, or do they avoid it due to discomfort or availability?
• Is hazard communication accessible, up-to-date, and reinforced beyond onboarding?
• Are lockout/tagout steps followed during machine maintenance, or are they bypassed under pressure?

To turn insights into action:

Audit Near-Miss Reports: Look at trends in your own incident data. Are the same problems happening repeatedly, even if no one’s been hurt yet?

Equip Frontline Leaders: Give supervisors mobile tools to log hazards and flag repeat issues during daily walkthroughs.

Micro-Train Regularly: Use short, mobile-friendly learning modules between formal training sessions to keep safety fresh in workers’ minds.

Make Safety Metrics Visible: Create dashboards for leading indicators like near-miss reports, PPE compliance rates, or training completion.

Tie Safety to Accountability: Embed safety goals into performance reviews—not just for workers, but for supervisors and department leads.

When workers know safety is visible, measured, and valued at every level, engagement increases. Leadership transparency—such as publicly sharing safety initiatives or follow-ups after incidents—builds trust. And trust is the cornerstone of a safety culture that endures beyond compliance.

Lesson 3: Don’t Let Political Winds Determine Your Safety Standards

With the 2025 political landscape shifting under a new presidential administration, there’s speculation about the future of OSHA enforcement. Will regulations be relaxed? Will inspections decrease?

The short answer: maybe.

But cannabis business leaders shouldn’t wait for federal cues. Here’s why safety still matters—regardless of regulation:

Fines Are Still Expensive: In 2025, a single serious violation can cost over $16,500. Willful or repeated violations can exceed $165,000. Small and mid-sized cannabis businesses can’t afford these penalties.

State Oversight Remains Strong: 22 states (including cannabis-heavy markets like California, Oregon, and Michigan) have OSHA-approved plans with their own rules—often more stringent than federal ones.

Your Reputation Is On the Line: Clients, insurers, and investors don’t just evaluate product quality—they assess risk. Frequent citations or unsafe conditions can jeopardize your brand’s credibility, your insurance premiums, and your access to capital.

The reality is: your employees expect to be protected, your customers want you to operate ethically, and your business partners require that you meet basic safety benchmarks. Safety is not just a regulatory checkbox, it’s a business essential.

Safety Starts With Small, Consistent Improvements

For cannabis operators, especially those scaling quickly, perfect compliance isn’t always realistic. But progress is.

Every time you reinforce fall protection, update a safety data sheet, or hold a five-minute toolbox talk, you’re not just reducing citations—you’re preventing injuries and building resilience into your team. Over time, these actions compound into a workplace where:

• Employees spot hazards before accidents happen
• Supervisors correct unsafe behaviors without fear or delay
• Everyone feels accountable—and protected

By using OSHA’s Top 10 as a compass, not just a warning, you can direct your resources to the most impactful improvements. And in an industry as dynamic and demanding as cannabis, that proactive mindset might be your most powerful tool of all.

Compliance Is Just the Beginning Culture Is the Goal

If there’s one thing OSHA’s annual data makes clear, it’s that most safety violations stem not from a lack of awareness but from a lack of consistency, communication, and culture.