Medical pot not welcome in workplace
Source: The Pueblo Chieftain
Date: March 03, 2010
Colorado voters approved the legal use of marijuana for a list of debilitating medical conditions in 2000, but that hasn't made marijuana an acceptable medicine in the workplace.
Pueblo County officials, for example, have advised employees that medical marijuana use will be regarded like alcohol — don't use it on the job or come to work under its influence.
County Attorney Dan Kogovsek said only one county employee had identified himself as possessing a state-approved medical marijuana card for a medical condition, but that doesn't sanction use on the job.
"Especially our drivers, who are subject to random drug tests anyway," Kogovsek said Tuesday. "Our policy is a department director can ask any employee they believe is working under the influence of any drug to submit to a medical test and refusal to do so is grounds for termination."
Asked if county directors would have the same reaction to an employee taking a strong medication for chronic pain, Kogovsek said the type of drug was immaterial. "If a supervisor believes you are under the influence of any drug, they can ask you to be tested," he said.
Pueblo City Manager Jerry Pacheco noted that Amendment 20, the authorizing amendment state voters approved in 2000, specifically says "no employer must accommodate the medical use of marijuana in the workplace."
"(City offices) are a drug-free workplace," Pacheco replied in an e-mail Tuesday. "If we weren't, we wouldn't be able to accept any federal funding. Keep in mind, marijuana is still illegal under federal law."
Pacheco added, "If (an employee) has a condition that is so bad it is incapacitating should you really be allowed to operate heavy machinery, drive a $600,000 fire truck to an emergency, or effect an arrest with a weapon? I don't think so."
Pacheco may not think so, but it is a legal question that is probably coming for employers. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment, the number of state-approved marijuana cards has swollen to around 20,000. State law is also in conflict on the subject.
While Amendment 20 pointedly excludes the workplace as a location for using marijuana, there is also a state law protecting employees — such as tobacco smokers — from being fired for engaging in a legal activity away from the job.
The California Supreme Court ruled in January 2008 that a private employer could fire a worker using medical marijuana, based on the employer's drug policies and the underlying fact that marijuana remains an illegal drug under federal law. Oregon and Washington state courts have also upheld the employers' right to fire.
Federal transportation officials also made it clear last October — people who drive school buses, trains, airplanes or any other commercial vehicle, the use of medical marijuana remains banned.