Oregon High Court: Employer Free to Fire Medical Marijuana User
16th April 2010
The Oregon Supreme Court ruled that a state worker who used pot to relieve pain and nausea could be fired for drug use even though he had had a state-issued medical marijuana card.
This strikes me as a very odd decision. The employee wouldn’t be fired for using a prescription drug, properly prescribed, for a medical condition, even though using it without a prescription would be illegal. He effectively had permission from his employer, the state, to use marijuana for a medical condition. I can see where he would be liable to arrest under Federal drug laws, but not how he can be liable to termination.