[blueash]

A 16 yo was left a quadriplegic from a car accident in 1996. He has spent his life since then in a wheelchair with severe muscle spasms. Over the years multiple medications have been tried to manage these spasms with poor success until 2009 when his doctors finally found a prescription medication which he takes once a day at home in the evening and it works very well with no side effects of concern.

He was hired by Dish (the TV people) as a customer phone rep and consistently performed at the top of his work group earning promotions. The medication had no impact on his work, other than making him able to do it better.

However he was fired when his employer found out about the physician prescribed medication he was legally using. Lower courts have held that the firing is allowed and it is now proceeding to a higher appellate court.

Thoughts?

[graciegirl]

Not right. This is when a good neurologist needs to speak to decision makers. But it is so unlike you Blueash to paraphrase a situation. Why not just link us to the original article???

[Carl in Tampa]

Gracie, it sounds like blueash is trying to lure us in to condemning the employer, and then disclosing that the "medication" is marijuana.

Leave it to the courts.

[LndLocked]

Originally Posted by Carl in Tampa

Gracie, it sounds like blueash is trying to lure us in to condemning the employer, and then disclosing that the "medication" is marijuana.

Leave it to the courts.

I will condemn the employer. The employee was using a LEGAL medication prescribed by a licensed physician.

It is incumbent on any and all employers that their HR policy's reflect the law of the land.

[dbussone]

Hire John Morgan?

[bagboy]

I admit I know nothing about being paralized, and I should probably look into it at some point. After seeing the ads from John Morgan about his brother being quadriplegic and needing medical Marijuana to ease his pain and suffering.... I want to know what pain is there if you are paralized from the neck down? I just don't know and would like to be enlightened.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by bagboy

I admit I know nothing about being paralized, and I should probably look into it at some point. After seeing the ads from John Morgan about his brother being quadriplegic and needing medical Marijuana to ease his pain and suffering.... I want to know what pain is there if you are paralized from the neck down? I just don't know and would like to be enlightened.

That guy, John Morgan, could find Marijuana for his brother if dumb high school freshmen can easily get it.

I think it is a CON that marijuana is a pain reliever that is better than those available by prescription. It is just a ploy to make it legal. FINE, make it legal. But call it what it is, just another way to get high, escape reality, feel good and run into someone with your car.

I also think that those backing medical marijuana were working some deal to make lotsa money. My opinion.

[sunnyatlast]

Originally Posted by Carl in Tampa

Gracie, it sounds like blueash is trying to lure us in to condemning the employer, and then disclosing that the "medication" is marijuana.

Leave it to the courts.

BINGO!

Maybe the guy got fired because he was half stoned at work and his IQ and ability to think, process phone questions, and respond to customers properly were declining:

"Marijuana also affects brain development, and when it is used heavily by young people, its effects on thinking and memory may last a long time or even be permanent.

A recent study of marijuana users who began using in adolescence revealed substantially reduced connectivity among brain areas responsible for learning and memory. And a large long-term study in New Zealand showed that people who began smoking marijuana heavily in their teens lost an average of 8 points in IQ between age 13 and age 38. Importantly, the lost cognitive abilities were not fully restored in those who quit smoking marijuana as adults."

DrugFacts: Marijuana | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

National Institutes of Health:

"A 38-year NIH-funded study, published this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that people who used cannabis heavily in their teens and continued through adulthood showed a significant drop in IQ between the ages of 13 and 38 — an average of eight points for those who met criteria for cannabis dependence. Those who used marijuana heavily before age 18 (when the brain is still developing) showed impaired mental abilities even after they quit taking the drug. These findings are consistent with other studies showing a link between prolonged marijuana use and cognitive or neural impairment.

"We are increasingly concerned that regular or daily use of marijuana is robbing many young people of their potential to achieve and excel in school or other aspects of life," said NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D. "THC, a key ingredient in marijuana, alters the ability of the hippocampus, a brain area related to learning and memory, to communicate effectively with other brain regions. In addition, we know from recent research that marijuana use that begins during adolescence can lower IQ and impair other measures of mental function into adulthood."

[obxgal]

Originally Posted by bagboy

I admit I know nothing about being paralized, and I should probably look into it at some point. After seeing the ads from John Morgan about his brother being quadriplegic and needing medical Marijuana to ease his pain and suffering.... I want to know what pain is there if you are paralized from the neck down? I just don't know and would like to be enlightened.

Never thought of that but it is a very good point.

[Sandtrap328]

Chances are that the OP was speaking of the quadriplegic using marijuana in some form.

The company has the right to ban certain substances such as marijuana from their premises.

We do not know IF the medication was marijuana nor do we know IF it was marijuana, IF medical marijuana is legal in that state. Naturally, if NOT legal in that state (Florida, for example), the quadriplegic would be breaking the law and would not risk only termination from the job but also arrested for using marijuana.

[DougB]

Originally Posted by bagboy

I admit I know nothing about being paralized, and I should probably look into it at some point. After seeing the ads from John Morgan about his brother being quadriplegic and needing medical Marijuana to ease his pain and suffering.... I want to know what pain is there if you are paralized from the neck down? I just don't know and would like to be enlightened.

From Brainandspinalcord.org

Pain. Although people with quadriplegia may not feel external sensations, it is possible to feel pain within your arms, legs, back, and other areas which do not respond to external stimuli. Pain medications prescribed by your doctor can relieve the pain.

[blueash]

I am not tricking anyone. I presented accurate information. I want to get people thinking about the hypocrisy in our legal system. We want our doctors to provide the safest most effective medications for each individual patient. We want our citizens to be productively employed. And then when a doctor and a patient find a medication that works and is legal in the state, the corporation with the consent of the courts fires him even though all sides agree that his medication did NOT impair him in any way. If you are outraged at an employer being able to fire you for using Prozac or Lyrica or Ambien then why should not that same outrage apply to legal use of marijuana?

It cannot be left to the courts because the courts simply apply the law unless the law is vague or unconstitutional. Change needs to come from the legislature rewriting the laws or the people amending the state constitution.
Brandon Coats' Case Could Change Everything

We need rational drug laws and this is yet another example of anti-drug madness.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by blueash

I am not tricking anyone. I presented accurate information. I want to get people thinking about the hypocrisy in our legal system. We want our doctors to provide the safest most effective medications for each individual patient. We want our citizens to be productively employed. And then when a doctor and a patient find a medication that works and is legal in the state, the corporation with the consent of the courts fires him even though all sides agree that his medication did NOT impair him in any way. If you are outraged at an employer being able to fire you for using Prozac or Lyrica or Ambien then why should not that same outrage apply to legal use of marijuana?

It cannot be left to the courts because the courts simply apply the law unless the law is vague or unconstitutional. Change needs to come from the legislature rewriting the laws or the people amending the state constitution.
Brandon Coats' Case Could Change Everything

We need rational drug laws and this is yet another example of anti-drug madness.

I agree we need rational drug laws.

[Chi-Town]

You know Blueash I was also skeptical of your post, because it sounded like that bs post from before. But it is actually a real human interest story. I hope it works out well for Brandon Coats. If one had a loved one who was paralyzed in a car accident and suffered violent muscle spasms that were only alleviated by medical marijuana one would not be casting judgement. An interesting case to see how it unfolds.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/09/3...t-firing-case/

[sunnyatlast]

Yes, it is probably the Brandon Coates in Colorado Supreme Court Case.

In this article on it, an excellent point was made among others:

"Speaking last, Michael Francisco of the state attorney general's office, sided with Dish. He said limiting the off-duty activities statute only to Colorado law could bring "absurdities," such as someone convicted of a crime like federal tax fraud not being able to be fired."

Confusion abounds as Colorado Supreme Court considers workers' pot use - The Denver Post

And then there is the conflict of federal law that supersedes state laws:

"If you are a federal contractor, your marijuana policies are governed, first and foremost, by the federal Drug Free Workplace Act. This Act (the DFW Act) requires entities that contract with the federal government to enforce zero-tolerance policies regarding use of illegal drugs in the workplace.

Because federal contractors are subject to federal law pursuant to the terms of their contracts, and because marijuana is still an illegal drug under federal law, no state law may require a federal contractor to accommodate marijuana use. Recognizing this conflict, a number of state statutes—such as those in Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, and New York—expressly exempt federal contractors from any duty to accommodate employees’ marijuana use. But the DFW Act does not regulate drug use outside of work hours, nor does it mandate drug testing, so the interplay between the DFW Act and state legalization laws still remains uncertain."

Medical Marijuana and the Workplace: What Employers Need to Know Now - Forbes