If gunfire wasn’t enough of a buzzkill following the enormous 4/20 Pot Rally in Denver, Colorado last week, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that employers may fire marijuana users even though the drug is now legal under state law.
The court held 2-1 that because Colorado citizens are subject to state and federal law, marijuana could not truly be considered a “lawful” activity. Thus, employers can legally fire anyone who uses marijuana, even if the employee was never under the influence of weed on the job and never possessed any pot on the employer’s property.
Despite the negative “pothead” culture publicity that marijuana legalization in Colorado has received, the appellant in the case,was actually a poster child for the medical marijuana movement.
Brandon Coats is a quadriplegic telephone operator who was prescribed marijuana to control painful muscle spasms.
“[He] was very aware that, with his condition, if he can’t win this case no one can,” Michal Evans, the fired employee’s attorney, told the Denver Post.
While libertarians and marijuana advocates shun the court’s decision, the case is actually an important win for employers who may wish to maintain a “zero-tolerance” policy for business reasons. Most large corporations have policies against drug use, and an individual’s right to use certain controlled substances shouldn’t necessarily interfere with an employer’s right to hire and fire their employees at-will.
Regardless of the immediate winners or losers in this case, the decision is sure to further aggravate the tensions between federal marijuana law, which classifies marijuana as an illegal substance, and the 17 states that have legalized marijuana for medicinal or recreational uses. To make matters even more awkward for federal officials, the District of Columbia awarded its first medical marijuana dispensary license this week – to a dispensary located literally within eyesight of Congress.
Attorney General Eric Holder hasn’t been shy about challenging state laws that are inconsistent with federal law during his tenure as AG. However, he told Congress last week that he hasn’t yet decided whether to go after states that have legalized marijuana. But he did say “we are certainly going to enforce federal law.” Evidently he forgot that current Department of Justice policy is to avoid prosecution of recreational pot users.
Until Congress, the DOJ and the courts sort everything out, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper’s November warning for smokers to not “break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly” still seems like smart advice. After all, it will likely be years before the federal government seriously discusses the legalization of recreational marijuana and current law classifies marijuana use as a misdemeanor – punishable of up to a year in jail and $1,000 in fines.
