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A specific article that I found helpful and useful for this website is called "State Laws on Off-Duty Marijuana use, written by attorney Sachi Barreiro. This specific article outlines all of the states that have legalized recreational marijuana and/or medical marijuana, along with the specific language used in their state laws regarding rules for employers.
Boehnke, K., Clauw, D., & Litinas, E. (2016). Medical Cannabis Use Is Associated With Decreased Opiate Medication Use in a Retrospective Cross-Sectional Survey of Patients with Chronic Pain. The Journal of Pain, 17(6), 739-744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2016.03.002
This article suggests that using medical marijuana for chronic pain treatment may benefit some patients who struggle with chronic pain. The authors of this article conducted a study to further examine whether using medical marijuana for chronic pain changed individual patterns of opioid use. They conducted a cross-sectional survey of 244 medical marijuana patients with chronic pain who shopped at a dispensary in Michigan between November 2013 and February 2015. The data that they collected included demographic information, changes in opioid use, quality of life, and medication side effects before and after starting to use marijuana. This study showed that medical marijuana use was associated with a 64% decrease in opioid use, and an improved quality of life (45%). This study suggests that many patients struggling with chronic pain are essentially substituting medical marijuana for opioids and other medications for their chronic pain management.
This article informs us that chronic pain is one of the most common and most expensive medical conditions that affects more than 100 million Americans, with total direct and indirect costs of up to $635 billion per year. According to the authors, opioids - one of the most common medication used to treat chronic pain, are ineffective for a lot of different chronic pain types and are even addictive and have an increased change of death due to accidental overdoses. Many patients have taken it upon themselves to get their medical marijuana cards, where medical marijuana is legal, to treat their chronic pain in a less harmful and easier way.
Data like this is very important and vital to helping marijuana become federally legal, and have it removed from the Controlled Substances Act.
On May 12, 2021, Ohio Congressman David Joyce introduced the Common Sense Cannabis Reform for Veterans, Small Businesses and Medical Professionals Act. Congressman David Joyce is the co-chair of the Cannabis Caucus. This bill that he introduced would take marijuana off the Controlled Substances Act and allow the VA to prescribe medical marijuana to veterans. This press release addresses how cannabis had finally become supported by the Republican Party, and their efforts to help marijuana become federally legal.
This press release is a great source that communicates the efforts being made to end marijuana prohibition, make it federally legal, and remove marijuana off of the Controlled Substances Act to further support the American people.
According to this article, New Mexico was the first state to list post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a condition for the use of medical marijuana. This article elaborates on a study that was conducted to report and analyze psychometric data on PTSD symptoms collected during 80 psychiatric evaluations of patients applying to the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program from 2009 to 2011. This study was done by administering the Clinician Administered Post-traumatic Scale (CAPS) for DSM-IV, and collecting and comparing scores of the first 80 patients evaluated. The results of the survey showed that there was a greater than 75% reduction in CAPS symptom scores when patients were using marijuana compared to when they were not. This study suggests that cannabis is associated with reductions in PTSD symptoms in some patients.
Although this was only a small sample, and was conducted in just one state, it can be an accurate representation of clients all over the United States who struggle with PTSD. The results of this study indicating that marijuana has helped patients cope with their PTSD symptoms can be especially important in the fight to make marijuana federally legal, so that the Department of Veterans Affairs can help treat PTSD by prescribing medical marijuana to veterans.
This particular article addresses some of the issues regarding employers and their ability to discriminate against prospective employees for possessing a medical marijuana card, providing specific examples of states and legal cases that have risen due to this issue. Tamara Lytle, the author of this article, emphasizes that state laws concerning recreational and medical marijuana are constantly changing, causing the Human Resources departments to keep up to speed with laws and the current climate, and figure out what an employer can and cannot due in regards to marijuana and the workplace.
This article goes on to communicate that employers are still allowed to enforce a drug-free workplace by means of drug-tests, and disciplinary actions for individuals who fail those tests. This article also addresses the issue of not being able to provide a random drug test to determine whether or not an employee was under the influence of marijuana while working, something that we are able to do concerning alcohol usage through Breathalyzers and blood alcohol content. There is also a list provided labeled "Best Practices for HR," which consists of suggestions for an HR department concerning marijuana in the workplace, such as talking to a lawyer about relevant state laws before setting policies and testing rules.
Overall, this article is a fantastic source in regards to what employers can do to create a safe and non-discriminatory work environment for their employees who possess a medical marijuana card.
The Marijuana Policy Project is an organization that was developed in January 1995, a time when marijuana was illegal in every state. Their sole purpose was and is to end marijuana prohibition. They have passed 13 medical cannabis laws in the past 15 years, and ran winning campaigns in eight of the 11 legalization states. Their organization is split into two smaller organizations. One is the main Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), which deals with lobbying and ballot initiatives. The other organization, MPP Foundation, is the educational branch.
Their website is abundant with information regarding marijuana, or example, current state and federa laws regarding both recreational and medical marijuana, past and current bills regarding recreational and medical marijuana, several issues that have been brought up - such as economics, decriminalization, and legislation, ways to help take action to end the prohibition of marijuana, and much more.
Specific information that I was able to pull from their website was information regarding the MORE Act, which stands for Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement, which is one of the many examples of action that continues to take place to help end the prohibition of marijuana and become one step closer to legalizing marijuana, both recreationally and medical, at the federal level.
Mello, J. (2013). Employment and public policy issues surrounding medical marijuana in the workplace: JBE. Journal of Business Ethics, 117(3), 659-666. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/10.1007/s10551-012-1551-8
This article was published in 2013, when only 17 states had legalized medical marijuana. Although this article is a little outdated now, it still addresses the policy issues of the lack of rights that medical marijuana patients have in their workplace. This article states that state medical marijuana laws are at odds with the federal Controlled Substances Act, which prohibits possession of marijuana. This fact, in addition with employer requirements under the Drug-Free Workplace Act, has created a dilemma for employers who have employees with medical conditions for which medical marijuana has been recommended.
The author asks, should an employer be able to discipline or discharge employees found to be using marijuana for medical purposes, either on or off premises, or should they be encouraged to make an exception for such employees? He believes the ultimate issue SHOULD be whether any prescribed or recommended medical treatment for a legally recognized disability or medical condition, be it marijuana usage or anything else, impacts the employee’s ability to do their job or involves any kind of safety issue. The author believes that employers should not have the opportunity to intrude upon the private professional medical care recommendations made for their employees which have no impact on the employee’s ability to do their jobs.
This article argues exactly what my blog addresses - discrimination in the workplace regarding individuals with medical marijuana cards. It is an issue that we will most likely continue to face while marijuana is still federally illegal and not protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. And even after it does eventually become federally legal, employers will have to determine what is best for their workplace.
Rocco, D. & Sheehan, N. (2019, Feb 13). Weed at Work: Must Employers Accommodate Medical Use? SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/state-and-local-updates/pages/must-employers-accommodate-medical-marijuana.aspx
This article was written by two attorneys who are very familiar with federal and state laws concerning medical marijuana. Their article addresses a few key laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988. These acts do not cover medical marijuana. In addition to this, the article lists a few specific cases where employees took their employers to court after they had been fired for testing positive for marijuana. Some of these cases were in favor of the employer, whose laws contained specific language that they were not required to accommodate medical marijuana use. And the others were in favor of the employee, arguing that the employer's drug policy stated that they permit off-site medical marijuana use and state law prohibits disability discrimination, such as in the case Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC.
Since many court cases have risen in several states that allow medical marijuana, this article informs us that many of these states are writing employment protections in their state laws concerning medical marijuana, and eliminating that ambiguity. Dean Rocco and Noelle Sheehan go on to provide a list of tips to employers, such as employers should confirm whether positive drug tests are connected to medicinal use before making employment decisions.
This article is especially helpful for informing us that the non-specific language in many states' employer laws, as well as employer drug policies, has caused much ambiguity for the employees who do use medical marijuana, and in turn has made these employees feel discriminated against. It is important that laws regarding recreational and medical marijuana use contain specific language to avoid having to go to court.
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