The Colorado Supreme Court established Monday that companies in that state can fire workers who use marijuana for medicinal reasons, even though it is legal in that state.
The Court’s decision came in a failed judgment in the case of Brandon Coats, a quadriplegic man who was fired from the Dish Network company in 2010 after failing a drug test that tested positive for marijuana.
Coats had a medical authorization to smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes, which has been legal in Colorado since 2000. The man said he had never used the drug (or been under its influence) at work, facts that Dish Network does not dispute.
But the company said it has policy of zero tolerance to drugs, and noted that marijuana is still illegal at the federal level. Therefore, Dish said that the use of the drug for any reason is grounds for dismissal.
There is a law in Colorado that protects employees from being fired for “illegal activities,” but the Court found that the law refers only to activities that are legal in both state and federal law, that is, throughout the territory. U.S.
“Thus, employers who use marijuana for medicinal purposes, which is allowed by state law but is illegal under federal law, are not protected by this statute,” the Court said in the decision.
Colorado also legalized the use of marijuana for recreational use, although that law states that companies can still ban the use of that substance by their employees.
While this case applies only in Colorado, it could have broader legal implications for other states moving toward legalizing this substance, whether for medical or recreational use, despite federal law.