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Medical marijuana law gives no protection from the boss
January 24, 2008 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
Gary Ross got fired because his drug test was positive for marijuana. He was using marijuana to treat chronic back pain, doing so on the advice of his doctor.
Ross sued his former employer claiming disability discrimination and claiming wrongful discharge in violation of public policy.
He relied on California's Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which gives an individual some protections from criminal prosecution when using marijuana for medical purposes on the recommendation of a physician.
Only one problem, according to the California Supreme Court. The Compassionate Use Act was not designed to have any impact on employment law. The whole idea of the statute was to protect certain users from criminal prosecution. So Ross lost, and the boss won.
The case: Ross v. Ragingwire Telecommunications (California Supreme Court 01/24/2008).
Early blog comments:
California Supreme Court: No Accommodation for Medical Marijuana from What's New in Employment Law?
CA Supreme Court: Ragingwire affirmed from Storm's California Employment Law.
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