Medical Marijuana California

[DontFeedPhil]

Hey,
I am wondering about the laws and stuff in California. Basically the State Government says Medical Marijuana is legal with a prescription from a doc. So thats all good. But what if you want to have a job too?
See in Wisconsin if you have Marijuana in your system you can be fired from a job, or be denied employment in the first place.
So what do they do in California? Do they still test everyone? Can you still be fired or not offered a job if you have Marijuana in your system or do you just have to whip out your Medical Marijuana Card?
Can people from California Or any other legal state please weigh in?
What was I talkin about?

 

[John Picard]

Dude, where's my car?

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

Do you know who would know?

An attorney who practices employment law in California.

 

[DontFeedPhil]

^^^Or just about anyone in California that Smokes Marijuana?

 

[John Picard]

^^^Or just about anyone in California that Smokes Marijuana?

Oh sure. Someone who tokes is really going to be "in the know".

 

[DontFeedPhil]

Im not talking about some guy who is just living in California and happens to smoke pot for fun. Im talking about people who live in California and happen to have a medical Marijuana card and also want to work a decent job.
You dont need to have a degree in Law to know what the rules are if youve ever gone thru the system and had a job or applied for one. And No, people who smoke marijuana dont suddenly forget anything ever told to them...

 

[Kommander]

I'm not a lawyer, or one who knows anything about California in general, but I'd imagine it would work the same way as if one tested positive for opiates and they have a prescription for Vicodin.

Maybe not though. Legalized medical marijuana is based on state law, whereas federal law says marijuana can't be used for medical purposes. So, if the drug testing is a condition of a government contract, having a prescription probably won't do any good.

 

[Luckyflux]

Funny you ask. Anyone can get a Medical card, but the problem with that is that it goes on your permanent record type thing. So anyone doing a background check will see that you have a Medical card. Even you get one and then stop using it, it will still show up on your record. It will follow you wherever you go so only get it if you absolutely need it.

Also, even with the card you can get fired or not hired for a job because you failed a drug test. Even if you have the card, the employer doesn't have to honor it in terms of equality. The employer has the right to fire/not hire someone if they are found to have drugs in there system regardless of a doctor.

The only thing I find weird about it is that what if I go to the dentist for a tooth problem and the dentist gives me percocet or vicodin. If I start taking the pain medication and my work gives me a drug test that I fail because of opiates, can I fight that with my dentist prescription? That is something I don't know, nor do I know how it relates to testing postive for Marijuana (as opposed to a postive test for Opiates)

 

[DontFeedPhil]

Kommander, thats the kind of discussion I was looking for. Not an ethical discussion about the negative aspects of it...
I also wonder how the Federal law that was just passed a few days ago is going to effect things. The new law says that they will not bust people in states where its legal...

 

[the Dagman]

I am a California resident who is a medical marijuana patient. However, I did not get my medical recommendation until after I went onto permanent disability. But it is supposed to be treated the same way as taking any other prescription doled out by a doctor. If they don't, they open themselves up to lawsuits for discrimination of people with pre-existing medical problems is the way I understand it. I am no lawyer though.

 

[TheBrew]

It is an "At-Will" state though and they might be able to fire you anyways. My rule is that if a job drug tests, I won't do drugs.

 

[Kommander]

The new law says that they will not bust people in states where its legal...

Probably won't have an effect on what you're talking about. Medical marijuana would have to be legalized on a federal level to change anything. Telling federal agencies to stop drug busts on marijuana for medical use that's legal at the state level is not the same thing.

 

[TheBrew]

Also it's not a new law, just an executive order. The next president can just as easily reverse course.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

In Ross v. Ragingwire Telecommunications, Inc. (S138130), the California Supreme Court upheld the rights of employers to terminate employees for marijuana use even if they have a legitimate prescription.

Nowhere in the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 were any restrictions placed on employers regarding drug testing or termination of legal marijuana users, so the majority of the court chose to interpret that as permission for employers to continue the status quo in a 5-2 decision.

So, if you want to use medical marijuana, and your employer has mandatory drug testing, they can still fire you. It depends entirely on the employer whether they test you or not, or whether they decide to let you continue to work there if you tell them you plan to use medical marijuana.