Can You Use Medical Marijuana at Work?

Can You Use Medical Marijuana at Work?

Can You Use Medical Marijuana at Work?  The short answer is no, not literally anyway.  Of course, you cannot use medical marijuana while AT work.  Much like alcohol, you would be hard-pressed to find an employer that would let you consume while AT work.  In reality, you aren’t asking Can You Use Medical Marijuana at Work.  You want to know if you use medical marijuana, can you be popped on a drug screen?

This, friends is a more ambiguous question.  The answer is, it depends.  Most employers will fire you on a positive drug test for recreational use.  Laws are changing, but as of January 2020, this still holds true.  However, there is a trend happening with regard to folks who live in a medical marijuana state and have a valid medical marijuana use card in those states.

New Jersey Medical Marijuana Patients Win Protections for Drug Tests

A state appeals court has ruled that New Jersey workers can’t be fired if they fail a drug test because they are a medical marijuana patient. The appeal means that as long as patients are not under the influence at work, they are protected by the state law against discrimination.

“The sweeping effect is you can no longer say, ‘You (tested) positive — you are outta here,’ ” said Maxine “Mickey” Neuhauser, an employment expert with the Newark office of the Epstein Becker and Green national law firm.

The state appellate decision is based on a lawsuit filed by Justin Wild, a man diagnosed with cancer who was fired from his director’s job at the Feeney Funeral Home in Ridgewood in 2016 after he was injured in a car accident. Wild did not report to his employer that he was a patient of medical marijuana. The accident was deemed to not be Wild’s fault because he was not high at the time.

This is not the first instance of New Jersey judges recognizing the right of medicinal marijuana patients. Many worker’s compensation cases have ordered employers to pay for employees hurt on the job who rely on medical marijuana for relief.  More info.

While this is only one case, it’s not an isolated one.  States across the United States are taking a harder look at regulations as it relates to protections for medical marijuana patients.  Many are beginning to acknowledge that, if State law has determined medical marijuana to be legal, it hardly seems logical to punish the recipients who take advantage of legal status to treat their medical conditions by losing their jobs.

As laws evolve to accommodate medical marijuana use, we do want to remind you again that no employer will ever be likely to allow medical marijuana use while AT work.  We have high hopes that, in the future, it will be perfectly legal to use medically recommended marijuana while off-duty from one’s job.

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