Bosses may fire workers for using medical pot off duty, California's high court says

By Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
12:36 PM PST, January 24, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO -- California employers may fire workers for using medical marijuana with a doctor's recommendation while off duty even if the drug does not impair an employee's performance, the California Supreme Court ruled 5 to 2 today.

The state high court's ruling weakened an already beleaguered 1996 law that prohibits the state from criminalizing the medical use of marijuana. The court said the Compassionate Use Act, passed by voters, imposed no requirements on employers.

"The Compassionate Use Act does not eliminate marijuana's potential for abuse or the employer's legitimate interest in whether an employee uses the drug," Justice Kathryn M. Werdegar wrote for the majority.

Justice Joyce L. Kennard called the decision "conspicuously lacking in compassion."

"The majority's holding disrespects the will of California's voters who, when they enacted the Compassionate Use Act, surely never intended that persons who availed themselves of its provisions would thereby disqualify themselves from employment," wrote Kennard, who was joined in her dissent by Justice Carlos R. Moreno.

The court majority upheld the firing of Gary Ross, an Air Force veteran whose doctor recommended he use marijuana for chronic back pain and whose disability qualified him for government benefits.

Ross, 46, was hired by Raging Wire Telecommunications Inc. in 2001 as an administrator. Before taking a required drug test, Ross provided a copy of his physician's recommendation for marijuana. The company fired him a week after he started the job because of his marijuana use.

Ross sued the company on the grounds that it failed to accommodate his disability as required under a state anti-discrimination law. He also alleged that the employer violated his rights as a matter of public policy. A trial court and an appeals court ruled for the employer.

Stewart Katz, Ross'lawyer, said he was disappointed but not surprised by the majority's ruling "because of what the political realities are." He said the state Legislature could overturn the ruling by amending the marijuana law to prohibit employment discrimination.

Bruce Mirken, a spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, said the court majority based its holding on "an absurdly narrow reading of the law."

"The court is claiming that California voters intended to permit medical use of marijuana, but only if you're willing to be unemployed and on welfare," Mirken said. "That is ridiculous on its face, as well as cruel."
MVP Reviewed by MVP on . California Court rules that employers may fire workers for using MMJ off duty... Bosses may fire workers for using medical pot off duty, California's high court says By Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 12:36 PM PST, January 24, 2008 SAN FRANCISCO -- California employers may fire workers for using medical marijuana with a doctor's recommendation while off duty even if the drug does not impair an employee's performance, the California Supreme Court ruled 5 to 2 today. The state high court's ruling weakened an already beleaguered 1996 law that Rating: 5