Judge upholds Walmart's firing of Michigan medical marijuana user

[Bozita]

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/02/judge_upholds_walmarts_firing.html

Judge upholds Walmart's firing of Michigan medical marijuana user
Published: Friday, February 11, 2011, 3:49 PM Updated: Friday, February 11, 2011, 3:50 PM
By John Agar | The Grand Rapids Press


GRAND RAPIDS – A federal judge today ruled that the state's medical marijuana law protects legal users from arrest, but not employers' policies that ban use of the drug.

Joseph Casias, who has an inoperable brain tumor, was fired by the Walmart store in Battle Creek after he failed a drug test.

“The fundamental problem with (Casias') case is that the (medical marijuana law) does not regulate private employment,” U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker wrote in a 20-page opinion.

“Rather, the Act provides a potential defense to criminal prosecution or other adverse action by the state. … All the (law) does is give some people limited protection from prosecution by the state, or from other adverse state action in carefully limited medical marijuana situations.”

more...

[sakabatou]

1. *facepalm*

[virgogal]

2. Yet an employee can come in zonked on a prescribed

anti-anxiety drug.

I'll never get it.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

5. Unfortunately that's the risk of "at-will" employment........

Its not the issue of WM canning the guy for his use of his medicine, its that "at-will" employment leaves too much discretion to the employer. The "at-will" is where the problem lies, and in this case WM was the judge, jury and executioner. The dude should've been able to use his medicine and keep his job, but labor laws in this country are set by folks like WM and their lobbyists.

[HereSince1628]

3. Nice. There is nothing like always caring for the WalMart family.

Walmart met resistance in the Milwaukee area and we get the commercials on Milwaukee television about what a great company it is. I am sure this will not be a topic of an upcoming piece of propaganda.

[XanaDUer]

4. I love those ads

NOT. The feel-good, we're-the-good-guys, and we enrich your "community" (a favorite word)

:puke:

[Maine_Nurse]

6. Glad that Maine's law protects against that and even against DHHS crap.

I've had plenty of legitimate patients that wouldn't need that kind of headache to deal with.

[EC]

7. The last employment agreement I signed

said "illegal drugs" not marijuana..so if the marijuana was gained with a medical prescription - it's a legal drug and wouldn't qualify under the drug test agreement. Right?

[saras]

8. If you can afford the attorney fees

You might actually win that one. Wal-Mart's contract probably says 'no commie pinko traitor pot-smokers'.

[jmowreader]

9. Pot is in a serious legal gray area, as we all know

Because of the Medicinal Marijuana law in Michigan, cannabis is legal to use in that state if you have the proper license.

BUT

Because marijuana is a federal Schedule I Controlled Substance, it is illegal everywhere in the United States. The only thing that keeps people from doing federal time for medical marijuana is the feds have no time to fuck around with a guy who's got half a lid of weed in the medicine cabinet.

Walmart, OTOH, has proof Pot Smoking Hippies are detrimental to the efficiency of its stores. Y'see, when the guy in the milk department got popped on a piss test and fired for it, the milk didn't get restocked until they hired a new guy to do it.

[Shagbark Hickory]

10. It's took 20 pages? Must have been lots of illustrations.