This week, the Colorado Supreme Court handed over a long-awaited
ruling on the issue of medical marijuana and employment practices.
In Coats vs Dish Network, an employee sued for wrongful termination after he tested positive for pot. The plaintiff is a paralyzed in a part of his body used medical cannabis outside of work when he was off the clock. Brandon Coats was a registered medical pot user, obtaining his medicine in a manner consistent with state constitutional guarantees and state statute.
This week, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled against Mr. Coats and, simply, the court was most likely right in its decision. This perspective is not a popular one in the cannabis advocacy community, however, it is a reality.
Mr. Coats broke the law by using cannabis. He used a drug that is illegal under the Controlled Substance Act, as cannabis remains a schedule 1 drug. Under that bracket “has a high potential for abuse…has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States [and] there is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision” [21 U.S.C 812(b)(1)].
A particular concern, in this case, was the plaintiff’s claim that Colorado labor laws stated his use of cannabis legal. The provision that raises concern was C.R.S. 24-34-402.5: “Unlawful prohibition of legal activities as a condition of employment.” This provision documents that a termination is “a discriminatory or unfair employment practice” if the employee is terminated for “engaging in any lawful activity off the premises of the employer during nonworking hours.”
The court held in a unanimous opinion that the term “lawful activity” reaches to both state as well as federal law. Going off of the reactions to the decisions, particularly in the cannabis and a licensed user, this finding is quite controversial.
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