cannabisnews.com: Calif. Court: Medical Pot Not OK at Work










  Calif. Court: Medical Pot Not OK at Work

Posted by CN Staff on January 24, 2008 at 10:51:18 PT
By Paul Elias, Associated Press Writer 
Source: Associated Press 

San Francisco, CA -- Employers can fire workers found to have used medical marijuana that was legally prescribed, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday in another setback for California in its increasingly rancorous clash with federal law over medical pot use.The high court upheld a Sacramento telecommunications company's firing of a man who flunked a company-ordered drug test. Gary Ross held a medical marijuana card authorizing him to legally use marijuana to treat a back injury sustained while serving in the Air Force.
The company, Ragingwire Inc., successfully argued it rightfully fired Ross because all marijuana use is illegal under federal law, which does not recognize the medical marijuana laws in California and 11 other states.A 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision declared that state medicinal marijuana laws don't protect users from prosecution. The Drug Enforcement Agency and other federal agencies have been actively shutting down major medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state over the last two years and charging their operators with serious felony distributions charges.The company said it fired Ross because it feared it could be the target of a federal raid, among other reasons.Ragingwire, a small telecommunications company in Sacramento, has been joined in the Supreme Court by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and the Western Electrical Contractors Association Inc., who said companies could lose federal contracts and grants if they allowed employees to smoke pot.The conservative nonprofit Pacific Legal Foundation said in a friend-of-the court filing that employers could also be liable for damage done by high workers.Ross had argued that medical marijuana users should receive the same workplace protection from discipline that employees with valid painkiller prescriptions do. California voters legalized medicinal marijuana in 1996.The nonprofit marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, which is represented Ross, estimates that 300,000 Americans use medical marijuana. The Oakland-based group said it has received hundreds of employee discrimination complaints in California since it first began tracking the issue in 2005.The American Medical Association advocates keeping marijuana classified as a tightly controlled and dangerous drug that should not be legalized until more research is done.Source: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Paul Elias, Associated Press WriterPublished: January 24, 2008Copyright: 2008 Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:Americans For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/ State Court To Rule on Employees' Rights http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23616.shtmlSupreme Court To Rule on MMJ & Employmenthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23496.shtmlMedical Marijuana and Employershttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23470.shtml 

Home    Comment    Email    Register    Recent Comments    Help






 


Comment #20 posted by FoM on January 24, 2008 at 14:06:15 PT

Hope
I think he might get the nomination but he won't win. He has too many strikes against him. I wouldn't vote for him if I was going to vote for a Republican because he is too old. I speak from being the age I am and I know by the time I get to his age I won't be thinking as effectively as when I was younger. Reagan developed Alzheimer's during his term and as far as I know he was younger then McCain is now. That is very scary to me because who would be running the country then?
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #19 posted by Hope on January 24, 2008 at 14:00:15 PT

Perhaps he couldn't win...
But I still liked him a lot.It's horrifying to me that McCain might win. He's a mindless, conscienceless prohibitionist to the core. 
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #18 posted by FoM on January 24, 2008 at 13:48:25 PT

Hope
I just heard that too.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #17 posted by Hope on January 24, 2008 at 13:35:51 PT

 Kucinich
has dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #16 posted by fight_4_freedom on January 24, 2008 at 13:22:33 PT:

I've talked my way out of
2 failed drug tests for two different companies in the past. It was a separate company doing the tests both times. After I failed I gave a big speech to the guys right in the bathroom as they held my urine in a cup about how it was discrimination, that I was an upstanding citizen, that the laws were unconstitutional, and bla bla bla. I made very convincing arguments and they both ended up passing me just because of my knowledge. And obviously they agreed with me. I'm sure it's not going to work most of the time but I'm living proof that it is worth a try.MykeyB- Working at a dispensary is my dream job (besides playing in the NBA lol) I hope one day to have one here in Michigan. 
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #15 posted by FoM on January 24, 2008 at 13:12:33 PT

BGreen
You are lucky. My husband is self employed but it doesn't matter for us.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #14 posted by BGreen on January 24, 2008 at 13:08:02 PT

Oh, how glad am I to be self-employed?!
I made a pledge to myself that I would never give up my Constitutional rights. I lived up to my pledge a few months ago when confronted by evil personified.I've also pledged that I will never take any kind of "drug" test. My employer (me) agrees wholeheartedly. As long as I can entertain an audience nobody should be concerned with my personal life.Of course, my decision forces me to avoid any interaction with the corrupt insurance industry, but who the heck can even afford to throw away $500 or more per month just to have access to pills?The Reverend Bud Green
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #13 posted by fight_4_freedom on January 24, 2008 at 13:00:59 PT:

Good quote from an LA times article
Bruce Mirken, a spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, said the court majority based its holding on "an absurdly narrow reading of the law.""The court is claiming that California voters intended to permit medical use of marijuana, but only if you're willing to be unemployed and on welfare," Mirken said. "That is ridiculous on its face, as well as cruel."
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #12 posted by FoM on January 24, 2008 at 12:55:19 PT

runruff
Oh to be a fly on the wall! LOL! Seriously this will be a very interesting year. 
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #11 posted by runruff on January 24, 2008 at 12:45:55 PT:

Mind you,
With the winds of political change blowing in the air, all the friends of the pharmaceutical industry and the fed's who are counting on this prohibition of the herb will be fighting tooth and nail to establish all the opposition they possibly can before the opposing political party takes office and starts showing favorability toward the people. I would love to see what goes on behind closed doors for the next year so. It's going to be a scramble. 
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #10 posted by FoM on January 24, 2008 at 11:45:46 PT

Sam
No they don't like McCain. The religious right really is a big control in their party. I'm glad they haven't infiltrated the Dems.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #9 posted by FoM on January 24, 2008 at 11:44:07 PT

Sam
That's cute and very true! LOL!
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #8 posted by Sam Adams on January 24, 2008 at 11:41:36 PT

cartoon
FOM I know you like Obama so you'll get a kick out of this cartoon:http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/I think the Dems will rally behind Obama or Clinton well, but I think the Repubs may not unify behind McCain, I think the religious wackos don't like him.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #7 posted by FoM on January 24, 2008 at 11:33:40 PT

Sam
I think McCain will get the nomination but he really is old and that will be used against him in a general election.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #6 posted by Sam Adams on January 24, 2008 at 11:25:08 PT

FOM, 10 months
the only problem is that there is an excellent chance of McCain winning. Maybe Ron Paul will run as an independent and siphon his votes away.Even if McCain wins, there will still be more medical MJ states after this election, it's going to be on the ballot in Maine, Michigan, Arizona and possibly Oregon. I think we've already passed the point where the feds will not be able to wipe out the state laws- even under Bush/Cheney. There are too many states including the biggest one, California.of course, we have to hope that Bush/Cheney doesn't allow another terrorist attack before the election.  That could give McCain a huge boost, as he is the most militaristic candidate of them all.The rest of the year is going to be interesting, to say the least. 
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #5 posted by Sam Adams on January 24, 2008 at 11:18:38 PT

AMA
just wanted to point out how laughable this statement is:"The American Medical Association advocates keeping marijuana classified as a tightly controlled and dangerous drug that should not be legalized until more research is done."What does this say about the AMA? It says they can't be trusted and are dishonest. They're supposed to have gone and studied medicine for 12 years and their group conclusion is that cannabis is a dangerous drug?  Wow.  "dangerous drug" "tightly controlled"?? Are you kidding? Any 8th grader with a ten dollar bill can buy cannabis. 100 million Americans have used it. If it was dangerous, we'd know by now.If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." --Thomas JeffersonSo true. With the obesity epidemic lack of excercise, America today is quite possibly the most unhealthy countries in the history of the world. Just the result that Jefferson predicted from living under tyranny. And lying doctors' groups.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #4 posted by mykeyb420 on January 24, 2008 at 11:17:16 PT

shock 
Is anyone shocked about this decesion? I'm thankful because i work in a cannabis club, but what about everyone else? You can be fired for smoking pot, you can loose you section 8 housing for smoking pot, you can loose your college loans for smoking pot, you can be thrown in prison for LIFE in some sates for smoking pot. Some could loose their life if they DON'T smoke pot.
 
 Did the government throw people in PRISON during alcohol prohibition for JUST DRINKING booze??
I dont like alcohol or tobacco, never did,,I do like cannabis,,always have. What is the difference?

[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #3 posted by FoM on January 24, 2008 at 11:14:36 PT

Sam
When this administration is finally out of power I believe we will see progress but not until then. All we can do until then is hold on.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #2 posted by Richard Zuckerman on January 24, 2008 at 11:12:27 PT:

"Otherwise qualified handicap"
If the employee did his job O.K. while taking the medication, then there should be no discrimination against him. He has an otherwise qualified handicap!!!
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #1 posted by sam Adams on January 24, 2008 at 11:07:24 PT

what a shame
Our urine-guzzling overlords won this battle, yes. But we're not going away, neither is the medicinal efficacy of cannabis.I was thinking the other day, here we are in the final days of the Bush/Cheney reign. All in all, MJ reform has held up pretty well. When they got re-elected, I was really worried that they'd launch a frontal assault on the medical MJ laws around the country.But now it seems certain that all the medical MJ laws will stand firm through next January, and even more states have added new laws in the last few years. There are atrocities like this, what happened to this war hero and many others.  Bush/Cheney ordered the EPA to stop a bunch of states from reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, a move that is so cruel and evil at the same time it's hard to believe. Their minions in US Fish & Wildlife service are at this moment pushing to allow a helicopter slaughter of beautiful timber wolves in Idaho & Montana. All things considered, I think MJ reform has held up well and we can look forward to a new surge of progress beginning in November. I don't think the feds will change on medical MJ in the next 5 years, we can see that they're not even close, but soon more states will have medical MJ laws and I think we'll see the feds stop interfering in the next 5 years.  I think once Bush/Cheney are gone we'll see more progress in other countries too.Here is an article on the EPA issue I mentioned if anyone's interested:http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/01/24/epa_staff_backed_waiver_for_calif_on_emissions_files_say/
[ Post Comment ]





  Post Comment