rooie indiaan 0 Posted March 28, 2008 SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― Employers can fire workers found to have used medical marijuana -- even if the drug use was legally recommended, occurs outside the office and doesn't affect job performance -- the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday in another setback for California in its increasingly rancorous clash with federal law over medical pot use. The high court upheld a Sacramento telecommunications company's firing of a man who flunked a company-ordered drug test. Gary Ross, 45, of Carmichael, held a medical marijuana card authorizing him to legally use marijuana to treat a back injury sustained while serving in the Air Force in 1983. The company, Ragingwire Inc., successfully argued it rightfully fired Ross in 2001 because all marijuana use is illegal under federal law, which does not recognize the medical marijuana laws in California and 11 other states. "No state law could completely legalize marijuana for medical purposes because the drug remains illegal under federal law," Justice Kathryn Werdegar wrote for the 5-2 majority. The so-called Compassionate Use Act, passed by California voters in 1996, protects seriously ill patients who use medical marijuana with a doctor's approval from being prosecuted under state criminal laws. But the court said the measure has nothing to do with employment laws. "Nothing in the text or history of the Compassionate Use Act suggests the voters intended the measure to address the respective rights and duties of employers and employees," Werdegar wrote. The court majority further said, "Under California law, an employer may require pre-employment drug tests and take illegal drug use into consideration in making employment decisions." A 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision also declared that state medicinal marijuana laws don't protect users from potential federal prosecution. The Drug Enforcement Agency and other federal agencies have been actively shutting down major medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state over the last two years and charging their operators with serious felony distributions charges. Ragingwire said it fired Ross because, among other reasons, it feared it could be the target of a federal raid. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and the Western Electrical Contractors Association Inc. had joined Ragingwire's case, arguing that companies could lose federal contracts and grants if they allowed employees to smoke pot. The conservative nonprofit Pacific Legal Foundation said in a friend-of-the-court filing that employers could also be liable for damage done by high workers. "This decision promotes employer efforts to make safe, drug-free workplaces," said Foundation lawyer Deborah LaFetra. Ross had argued that medical marijuana users should receive the same workplace protection from discipline that employees with valid painkiller prescriptions do. The nonprofit marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, which represents Ross, estimates that 300,000 Americans use medical marijuana. The Oakland-based group said it has received hundreds of employee discrimination complaints in California since it began tracking the issue in 2005. Safe Access attorney Joe Elford said the group will now focus on getting the Legislature to pass a law protecting medical marijuana users in the work place. "Obviously, we are extremely disappointed by the ruling," he said. "But we remain confident that there will be a day when medical marijuana patients are not discriminated against in the workplace." Assemblyman Mark Leno, a Democrat who represents part of San Francisco, said he will introduce such a bill in the California Legislature within the next few weeks. The ruling "strikes a serious blow to patients' rights," he said. In a dissent, Justices Joyce Kennard and Carlos Moreno said the ruling was "conspicuously lacking in compassion" and "disrespects" the California medical marijuana law. They contended that workers who use marijuana off-site for valid medical reasons should not be fired if they perform their jobs adequately, unless an employer proves that its business interests are impaired. The American Medical Association advocates keeping marijuana classified as a tightly controlled and dangerous drug that should not be legalized until more research is done. BRON. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
keesthemad 8 Posted March 28, 2008 En daar kan ik woedend van worden , als je werknemer kneiter van de morfine binnenkomt en z'n werk niet kan doen krijgt ie een zak geld mee omdat hij ziek is ? Maar als hij z'n werk wel kan doen maar met een "verboden" medicijn dan kun je hem ontslaan, uit principe. Kees. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scorp 1 Posted March 28, 2008 Het is Amerika, verder geen vragen daarover. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
