In Colorado,people with a number of conditions have been allowed to smoke marijuana for medical reasons. They’ve jumped through hoops to be allowed this designation and are “card carrying” members of what was once an elite club (not so elite now that recreational marijuana has been legalized). Still, the medical marijuana users represent a group of people who use the plant for its healing properties—many of them afflicted with debilitating and chronic illnesses. Despite their medical justification for using marijuana, a state Court of Appeals recently ruled their medicine, unlike the medicines pushed by large pharmaceutical companies, could cost them their job.
According to the Denver Post, the Court was divided, with a 2-1 decision in favor of the employer of a quadriplegic man. The man was fired from his job for using marijuana in his off time. At no time did his employer suggest he was under the influence while working, merely that he used marijuana (lawfully) in his off time.
This ruling will be felt across the country as the first of its kind. With medical marijuana states numbering 18 and more waiting in the wings, Colorado has set the tone with this ruling.
“What the Colorado Court of Appeals said is, by definition, the use of medical marijuana cannot be lawful,” said an attorney on the case.
So, what legal justification did the court cite as the basis for their ruling? Federal law.
“While we agree that the general purpose of (the Lawful Off-Duty Activities Statute) is to keep an employer’s proverbial nose out of an employee’s off-site off-hours business,” Court of Appeals Chief Judge Janice Davidson wrote, “we can find no legislative intent to extend employment protection to those engaged in activities that violate federal law.”
In other words, yes an employer should stay out of the business of their workers. However, if that business involves breaking federal law (despite being okay according to Colorado state law), the employer can terminate the worker.
So, what’s next? Until the Supreme Court rules otherwise, Colorado courts will back employers that fire medical marijuana users. As for this particular employee, he plans on asking the Supreme Court to hear his case.
This case, and others like it, show that despite the voters of Colorado taking marijuana reform into their own hands, the federal laws still exercise some control. Between federal law violations and other criminal drug charges, the war on drugs is definitely still going on.
About David Matson