Robert Celt
New Member
The state's law on medical cannabis offers opportunities for people suffering from a variety of conditions.
But it also poses challenges to employers who have implemented workplace policies against the use of drugs.
The courts will likely deal with these issues extensively over the next several years, and lawmakers on the state and federal levels will need to remedy some legal questions.
The state Department of Health launched the medical cannabis program Jan. 7. More than 450 physicians from across the state registered to legally prescribe medical cannabis, and more than 1,500 patients have been certified by their doctors to participate.
Medical cannabis must be used in the form of a tincture, oil or other nonsmokeable form that can be ingested or vaporized. Eligible conditions listed by the DOH are cancer, HIV/AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathy, Huntington's disease and certain spinal cord injuries.
While the law will benefit people suffering from these conditions, it also throws a wrench into workplace policies against using drugs.
The Compassionate Care Act classifies people using medical cannabis as disabled. This protects them from being fired for using the substance through a prescription.
But traces of cannabis linger for a long time in the body. Someone who used it legally over a weekend may still test positive for the substance weeks later, long after its potential impairing effects have subsided.
So how will companies determine if a positive test was the result of a legal use of cannabis or if the individual was impaired on the job against workplace policy?
Another fly in the ointment is that companies with federal contracts or receiving federal money are exempt from the Compassionate Care Act. What's the sense of passing a law like this to protect people's rights when a huge loophole exists?
This tangled web of issues will need to be settled by the courts if lawmakers don't act. Federal legislators should review government policies to see if aligning them with conflicting state laws would make more sense. As more states adopt medical cannabis laws, revising federal rules toward this drug will be necessary.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Working It Out: Courts, Legislators Need To Remedy Medical Cannabis Legal Issues
Author: Staff
Photo Credit: Jeff Chiu
Website: Watertown Daily Times
But it also poses challenges to employers who have implemented workplace policies against the use of drugs.
The courts will likely deal with these issues extensively over the next several years, and lawmakers on the state and federal levels will need to remedy some legal questions.
The state Department of Health launched the medical cannabis program Jan. 7. More than 450 physicians from across the state registered to legally prescribe medical cannabis, and more than 1,500 patients have been certified by their doctors to participate.
Medical cannabis must be used in the form of a tincture, oil or other nonsmokeable form that can be ingested or vaporized. Eligible conditions listed by the DOH are cancer, HIV/AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathy, Huntington's disease and certain spinal cord injuries.
While the law will benefit people suffering from these conditions, it also throws a wrench into workplace policies against using drugs.
The Compassionate Care Act classifies people using medical cannabis as disabled. This protects them from being fired for using the substance through a prescription.
But traces of cannabis linger for a long time in the body. Someone who used it legally over a weekend may still test positive for the substance weeks later, long after its potential impairing effects have subsided.
So how will companies determine if a positive test was the result of a legal use of cannabis or if the individual was impaired on the job against workplace policy?
Another fly in the ointment is that companies with federal contracts or receiving federal money are exempt from the Compassionate Care Act. What's the sense of passing a law like this to protect people's rights when a huge loophole exists?
This tangled web of issues will need to be settled by the courts if lawmakers don't act. Federal legislators should review government policies to see if aligning them with conflicting state laws would make more sense. As more states adopt medical cannabis laws, revising federal rules toward this drug will be necessary.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Working It Out: Courts, Legislators Need To Remedy Medical Cannabis Legal Issues
Author: Staff
Photo Credit: Jeff Chiu
Website: Watertown Daily Times
