February 22, 2010

Should job candidates be disqualified for medical marijuana use?

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Last week, KUOW's Heidi Lang did a fascinating piece on how a woman who uses medical marijuana to alleviate migraines lost her job. A quick recap of the details:

"Jane Roe" -- an alias for the employee in question -- was a long-suffering migraine patient who hadn't had any luck with the variety of prescription medications she'd tried. Roe did, however, find relief in medical marijuana, which she began to use in the privacy of her own home upon her doctor's authorization.

Medical marijuana is legal in Washington State. But as KUOW reported, "Federal law still makes marijuana possession, distribution, or manufacture illegal for any purpose." As you can imagine, this gray area leaves much room for interpretation.

You can probably see where this is going: Roe started a new job as a customer service phone agent in Bremerton. As KUOW reported, Roe came clean about her medical marijuana use from day one, providing her employer's HR department with a copy of her doctor's note authorizing her use of the drug. According to Roe, the HR department waved away the note and told her "to still go take the drug test."

Roe complied and then began her new job's training program. On her tenth day of training, she was told she'd flunked the drug test and dismissed from her job, effectively immediately.

On KUOW, Roe had this to say about the experience:

"The whole thing went down in a way that was embarrassing and the fact that I'd worked there so many days and been so up front with them and tried to do the right thing. It was very discouraging."

Roe is now suing the employer. She and her lawyer are hoping to have their day in our state's supreme court. As KUOW's Lang reported, "A victory at that level could set a legal precedent for medical marijuana patients -- and companies -- across the country." (To hear the legal spin from attorneys on both sides of the issue, see Lang's excellent story.)

This obviously is a loaded issue. I can see why -- right or wrong -- employers hiring workers to operate heavy machinery or monitor a nuclear power plant might worry about candidates who use medical marijuana in the privacy of their own home after hours.

But many employers hiring workers for jobs that do not involve making split-second life-or-death decisions require drug tests too. I often hear desk job candidates grumble about the drug tests they've been asked to take during the interview process. They feel their privacy has been violated, regardless of their stance on (or experience with) medical marijuana, prescription drug, or recreational drug use.

I don't blame them. I'm about as substance-free as they come (one cup of coffee and I feel like I'm overdosing). But I'd been miffed too if asked to "go" in a cup before being hired to crank out a bunch of copy.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter, whether you're looking for work or looking to fill a job opening at your company. Are employers justified in just saying no to medical marijuana users? If so, when?

Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide." E-mail Michelle at mgoodman@nwjobs.com

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7 Comments

Jillian Galloway on February 23, 2010 1:49 PM | Reply

There never was a good reason to make marijuana illegal. The whole "send the right message to the kids" argument is absurd and insulting. If the government wants to send a message to kids it can hold a press conference, it does NOT have to arrest 800,000 people every year and cause the brutal murder of more than 7,000 people annually just to send a message to kids! We are being lied to.

The prohibition has just ONE goal - to prevent the use of marijuana in this country. It does not have the goal to arrest as many people as possible, and it does not have the goal to cause as many sadistic and brutal murders as possible, and it certainly does NOT have the goal to provide as many law enforcement and prison officers as possible with guaranteed employment. So how is the prohibition doing in meeting its one goal?

Currently, fifteen million people in this country smoke marijuana every single DAY. Currently, 100 million of us (a third of our population) acknowledge that they've obtained and consumed marijuana *during the prohibition*. And according to NIDA, currently 6,000 people start smoking marijuana for the first time every single DAY. The prohibition is an abject and deadly FAILURE! Tell your legislators.

TheWeedBlog on February 23, 2010 4:25 PM | Reply

There is only one state that protects medical marijuana patients. Go to http://www.theweedblog.com to find out which one

JJ on February 25, 2010 2:22 PM | Reply

No, you should be forced to hire every stoner that feels it's his/her right to a job, a home, healthcare, etc!

Darrell on February 25, 2010 5:35 PM | Reply

No, I don't think it is ok to hire people using Marijuana under any circumstances!

However, I feel it is ok to hire people who drink alcohol, take frequent breaks to smoke cigarettes, use prescribed drugs beyond the scope of their illness, etc.

Mark on February 26, 2010 9:39 PM | Reply

First off, I resent the invasiveness of today's workplace. Our employers have become our cops. If a person has marijuana prescribed to them they should not be fired by their ungrateful employer. Those who employ should be grateful to ALL employees who are enabling them to run a business without doing the most difficult of tasks themselves. (Fat Chance)

LORRAINE on February 27, 2010 5:31 AM | Reply

THIS IS GOING TO BECOME A VERY BIG DEAL AS MORE AND MORE STATES ADAPT MEDICAL MARY. IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS. I LIVE IF FLORIDA AND HERE WE ARE NOT PATIENTS WE ARE CRIMINALS AND IT IS NOT MEDICAL MARY IT IS A NARCOTIC! WE NEED A CHANGE AT FED LEVEL TO TRULY PROTECT US

frank on April 22, 2010 10:20 AM | Reply

i dont know about all you people but here i am raseing my four year old son paying taxes working hard everyday to make ends meet and yeah im all for medical mary! but i look alround me and i see npeople smoking meth shooting H and they get more for doing nothing just living off my tax money but some guy who smokes pot gant get a honest job !!!WTF is wrong here??

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