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Businesses may need to reconsider their drug and alcohol policies as Massachusetts prepares to launch its medical marijuana program in the aftermath of last Tuesday's election.
Under the law, proposed in a referendum question that passed by a more than 25-percentage-point margin on Election Day, doctors will be able to prescribe marijuana to patients suffering debilitating illnesses, starting next year.
The law says employers are not required to allow employees to medicate on the job.
"Nothing in this law requires any accommodation of any on-site medical use of marijuana in any place of employment," the ballot initiative read.
But eventually, an impasse between an employee and his or her employer is inevitable — if not for medicating with marijuana on the job, then for the prohibitive away-from-work drug policies some businesses have.
"This certainly has the potential to come up (in court)," said Kier Wachterhauser, a lawyer with Quincy employment law firm Murphy, Hesse, Toohey & Lehane.
If an employee who has been deemed in need of medical marijuana takes an employer to court over the company's internal drug policies, arguments could go in two directions, Wachterhauser said.
Employers are required to make reasonable accommodations to employees with medical conditions. If an employee was pitted against his or her employer in court, that would be the likely line of argument.
But that would likely be superseded by the conflict between federal and state law. Even though medical marijuana will now be considered legal in Massachusetts, it is still illegal by federal standards.
Employers could argue that they are relying on federal standards to prohibit use of the substance, Wachterhauser said. Federal law trumps state law.
For that reason, employers will at least be under pressure to define what they consider an illegal substance in their policies, said Arthur Murphy, another lawyer at Murray, Hesse, Toohey & Lehane.
For now, neither businesses nor the state are talking about the possible conflict.
Quincy-based Arbella Insurance declined to comment, saying the issue "is not currently on our radar screen."
Human resources representative Cathy Schmidt at Norwell-based Clean Harbors said it was too early to say how the business would address the new law.
Schmidt said the company's drug and alcohol policies are rewritten every year, and the new law will be factored into the review for 2013.
Other businesses did not respond to requests for comment.
A representative from the Attorney General's Office said the office could not comment on a hypothetical case. And the state Department of Public Health, which will have to implement the medical marijuana program, responded with a brief written statement that does not directly address potential employee-employer issues.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: patriotledger.com
Author: Adam Vaccaro
Contact: The Patriot Ledger Contact Us
Website: A potential problem with new medical marijuana law - Quincy, MA - The Patriot Ledger
Under the law, proposed in a referendum question that passed by a more than 25-percentage-point margin on Election Day, doctors will be able to prescribe marijuana to patients suffering debilitating illnesses, starting next year.
The law says employers are not required to allow employees to medicate on the job.
"Nothing in this law requires any accommodation of any on-site medical use of marijuana in any place of employment," the ballot initiative read.
But eventually, an impasse between an employee and his or her employer is inevitable — if not for medicating with marijuana on the job, then for the prohibitive away-from-work drug policies some businesses have.
"This certainly has the potential to come up (in court)," said Kier Wachterhauser, a lawyer with Quincy employment law firm Murphy, Hesse, Toohey & Lehane.
If an employee who has been deemed in need of medical marijuana takes an employer to court over the company's internal drug policies, arguments could go in two directions, Wachterhauser said.
Employers are required to make reasonable accommodations to employees with medical conditions. If an employee was pitted against his or her employer in court, that would be the likely line of argument.
But that would likely be superseded by the conflict between federal and state law. Even though medical marijuana will now be considered legal in Massachusetts, it is still illegal by federal standards.
Employers could argue that they are relying on federal standards to prohibit use of the substance, Wachterhauser said. Federal law trumps state law.
For that reason, employers will at least be under pressure to define what they consider an illegal substance in their policies, said Arthur Murphy, another lawyer at Murray, Hesse, Toohey & Lehane.
For now, neither businesses nor the state are talking about the possible conflict.
Quincy-based Arbella Insurance declined to comment, saying the issue "is not currently on our radar screen."
Human resources representative Cathy Schmidt at Norwell-based Clean Harbors said it was too early to say how the business would address the new law.
Schmidt said the company's drug and alcohol policies are rewritten every year, and the new law will be factored into the review for 2013.
Other businesses did not respond to requests for comment.
A representative from the Attorney General's Office said the office could not comment on a hypothetical case. And the state Department of Public Health, which will have to implement the medical marijuana program, responded with a brief written statement that does not directly address potential employee-employer issues.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: patriotledger.com
Author: Adam Vaccaro
Contact: The Patriot Ledger Contact Us
Website: A potential problem with new medical marijuana law - Quincy, MA - The Patriot Ledger
