Pubdate: Tue, 16 Jun 2015
Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Copyright: 2015 Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.abqjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10
Author: Kristen Wyatt, Associated Press

POT'S LEGAL IN COLO., BUT USERS CAN STILL BE FIRED

State Justices Won't Exempt Medical Use

DENVER - Pot may be legal in Colorado, but you can still be fired for using it.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 6-0 Monday that a medical marijuana 
patient who was fired after failing a drug test cannot get his job 
back. The case was being watched closely by employers and pot smokers 
in states that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana.

Colorado became at least the fourth state in which courts have ruled 
against medical marijuana patients fired for pot use. Supreme courts 
in California, Montana and Washington state have made similar 
rulings, and federal courts in Colorado and Michigan also have 
rejected such claims.

The Colorado worker, Brandon Coats, is a quadriplegic who was fired 
by Dish Network after failing a 2010 drug test. The company agreed 
that Coats wasn't high on the job but said it has a zero-tolerance drug policy.

Coats argued that his pot smoking was allowed under a state law 
intended to protect employees from being fired for legal activities 
off the clock. Coats didn't use marijuana at work, but pot's 
intoxicating chemical, THC, can stay in the system for weeks.

The Colorado justices ruled that because marijuana is illegal under 
federal law, Coats' use of the drug couldn't be considered legal 
off-duty activity.

"There is no exception for marijuana use for medicinal purposes, or 
for marijuana use conducted in accordance with state law," the court wrote.

Coats and his lawyers said the decision at least clarified the matter 
for workers.

"Although I'm very disappointed today, I hope that my case has 
brought the issue of use of medical marijuana and employment to 
light," Coats said in a statement.

Dish Network and other business groups applauded the ruling.

"As a national employer, Dish remains committed to a drugfree 
workplace and compliance with federal law," company spokesman John 
Hall said in a statement.

Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C., allow people to use medical 
marijuana. Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington state and Washington, 
D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana.

The Colorado Constitution specifically states that employers don't 
have to amend their policies to accommodate employees' marijuana use.

Coats was paralyzed in a car crash as a teenager and has been a 
medical marijuana patient since 2009, when he discovered that pot 
helped calm violent muscle spasms. He was a telephone operator with 
Dish for three years before he failed a random drug test in 2010 and was fired.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom