Medical cannabis occupies a no man’s land of sorts within the broader legal environment. It is both illegal and decriminalized at the same time. And because of its unique status, there are plenty of questions surrounding individual rights. For instance, do medical cannabis patients enjoy any workplace protections?
Workplace protections are tricky for medical cannabis patients. So tricky, in fact, that there isn’t a single black-and-white answer I could apply to every case. States regulate medical cannabis, and state law determines whether there are any workplace protections in force.
Still Federally Illegal
The first thing to remember in any discussion about workplace protections for medical cannabis users is this: cannabis is still federally illegal as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. That means there is no federal workplace protections. A person fired as a result of using medical cannabis would have no recourse under federal law.
Workplace Protections in Utah
To demonstrate the tricky nature of the workplace protections question, let us compare two states. We will start with Utah. The Beehive State did not have workplace protections in place when medical cannabis was first launched in 2020. But according to the operators of the Beehive Farmacy medical cannabis dispensary in Brigham City, things have since changed.
Beehive personnel explain that a local firefighter was threatened with termination a couple of years ago when it was discovered that he possessed a medical cannabis card. The case went to court and the firefighter won. In the meantime, Utah lawmakers wrote legislation offering most public employees limited protections for medical cannabis consumption.
Under current Utah law, public employees must be given the same deference to medical cannabis as they are any other prescription medication. They cannot be discriminated against as long as their use of medical cannabis does not interfere with the ability to do their jobs safely and effectively. Private employers in Utah are still free to make their own workplace policies regarding cannabis.
Workplace Protections in Florida
Florida’s medical cannabis law does not force either public or private employers to accommodate on-the-job medical cannabis use. And in fact, if medical cannabis impairs an employee’s ability to do their job safely, employers are within their rights to act accordingly. But state law does not say anything about medical cannabis consumption off the job.
According to Marijuana Moment, a court case decided in Hillsborough county could change that. Apparently, a Hillsborough County EMT was dismissed for testing positive for cannabis. While he was not impaired at the time, the test was pretty clear that he was using cannabis during non-working hours.
He took the county to court and won his case. The court ruled that Hillsborough County:
Could not take action against off the job medical cannabis consumption; and
Must accommodate medical cannabis as long as workers are not impaired while on-the-job.
Hillsborough County has said it will appeal the decision. It should. The court’s ruling seems overly broad – particularly on the second point. As for private employers, my assumption is that they are still free to make their own workplace drug policies.
A Question of Rights
All of this boils down to a question of rights. Both employees and employers have certain rights under the law. Win those rights conflict, whose rights should prevail? I am not sure I know the answer to that question. But that is why we have courts and judges.
Are there workplace protections for medical cannabis users in your state? If you are not sure, you’ve now got a project next time you have a few minutes to spare.
