Friday 26 April 2013

Pot smokers can be fired as Colorado courts weigh in

Pot smokers can be fired as Colorado courts weigh in, the state of Colorado according to a court ruling. The question of whether pot smokers can be fired came up after the state passed a measure to legalize marijuana. According to a report from late Thursday (April 25), employers in the state of Colorado have been given the right to lawfully fire workers who test positive for the drug.

The Colorado Court of Appeals was tasked with deciding whether employees were protected by state statutes when it came to marijuana use for medicinal purposes. What the court ended up finding was that there is no protection since the drug is still barred by the federal government. This finding will likely get debated quite a bit by both sides of the argument.

That pot smokers can be fired in the state still is certainly something that is going to anger those residents that have long supported the legalization of marijuana. The ruling seems pretty clear cut, though, and it doesn't leave much gray area for debate. The court stated in its conclusion that, "For an activity to be lawful in Colorado, it must be permitted by, and not contrary to, both state and federal law."

Though the court has given its judgement, this doesn't mean that the debate is going to end in the state of Colorado. Both Colorado and Washington state law has been put in place to allow for the recreational use of marijuana in addition to its medical uses, but that hasn't led to the federal government altering its own policies on regulation. This latest finding from the Colorado Court of Appeals is a big ruling though.

Going forward, it is now in the judgement that pot smokers can be fired for testing positive for marijuana, likely leading to this decision affecting many other cases going on in the state.

No comments:

Post a Comment