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Fired UP:Even in Legalized and Medical Marijuana States, if You Smoke Pot You Can Still Be Fired From Your Job

Some believe in states where marijuana is legalized or where medical marijuana is permitted, they are free from being dismissed from their jobs.   They also believe that with drug tests positive results for marijuana in these permitted states will result in a negative drug test result.  Not the case.  In fact the only states where if you have a license for medical marijuana that will rule it a negative result are Rhode Island, Delaware, Maine,  and Arizona.   With the rest of the states, you test positive, the results on the report remain positive.

With smoking pot in legalized states, you can still be fired.  Doesn’t matter if you smoke on the job or off the job, you can still be subject to dismissal.

The Colorado Supreme Court upheld the firing of a handicapped employee who was smoking off duty for his medical condition.   According to the post by the employment law firm Seyfarth and Shaw, the following determination was made by the court…”In a unanimous decision (one justice did not participate), the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of Coats’ lawsuit.  Although Coats’ use of medical marijuana was lawful under Colorado’s medical marijuana law, marijuana is a “controlled substance” under the federal Controlled Substances Act and its use, even for medicinal purposes, is a federal criminal offense.  As a result, the Court held that Coats’ use of medical marijuana was not “lawful” and he was not protected from termination because of his use of medical marijuana.  The Court also rejected arguments that use of medical marijuana was no longer unlawful because: (a) the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it will not prosecute certain patients who use medical marijuana in accordance with state law; and (b) in December 2014, Congress passed an appropriations bill that prohibits the Department of Justice from using funds appropriated under the act to prevent states with medical marijuana laws (like Colorado) from implementing those laws.”

By Gordon Basichis

Gordon Basichis is the Co-Founder of Corra Group, specializing in pre-employment background checks and corporate research. He has been a marketing and media executive and has worked in the entertainment industry, the financial, health care and technology sectors. He is the author of the best selling Beautiful Bad Girl, The Vicki Morgan Story, a non-fiction novel that helped define exotic sexuality in the late twentieth century. He is the author of the Constant Travellers and has recently completed a new book, The Guys Who Spied for China, dealing with Chinese Espionage in the United States. He has been a journalist for several newspapers and is a screenwriter and producer.

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