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The House Human Services Committee today hears a bill tackling medical marijuana in the workplace.
This the third bill to come from an interim committee that spent six months working on medical marijuana legislation, Republican Representative Gary MacLaren's (House District 89,) House Bill 43 gives guidelines and restrictions to employers on how to handle employees who may be impaired due to medical marijuana.
Medical cannabis supporters say they interpret the bill to mean that an employer could terminate an employee simply for having a medical marijuana card, at the same time subjecting them to drug testing that violates privacy.
Supporters of the bill claim that the clarifications address public safety, acting as a safety net from litigation and wrongful termination lawsuits.
"Right away that employee claims, well you fired me because of my medical marijuana card. Now that would be fine, except, the employer won the day but now you're looking at a lot of attorney's fees for no reason," says one proponent.
"This bill does nothing to address job performance or impairment on the job, it simply targets medical cannabis patients. It reminds me strongly of legislation proposed in the early 80's targeting the homosexual community denying them access to jobs and public education, etc." says Doug Chyatte with Montanans for Responsible Legislation.
"If the guy that's running that machine, is not fully cognoscente of everything going on around him or her, there could be some tragic consequences," says Cary Hegreberg, Montana Contractors' Association.
"You're basically legalizing a kind of bigotry," says Tom Daubert with Patients and Families Unitied who opposed the bill for going too far.
The bill does not include prescription medication and medical cannabis advocates say the bill opens up currently exempt employees in the state of Montana to drug testing.
News Hawk: MedicalNeed 420 MAGAZINE
Source: kfbb.com
Author: Kacey Drescher
Contact: News, Sports, Weather for Great Falls, Helena, and all of Montana
Copyright: 2008 Max Media of Montana
Website:Medical Marijuana in the Workplace
This the third bill to come from an interim committee that spent six months working on medical marijuana legislation, Republican Representative Gary MacLaren's (House District 89,) House Bill 43 gives guidelines and restrictions to employers on how to handle employees who may be impaired due to medical marijuana.
Medical cannabis supporters say they interpret the bill to mean that an employer could terminate an employee simply for having a medical marijuana card, at the same time subjecting them to drug testing that violates privacy.
Supporters of the bill claim that the clarifications address public safety, acting as a safety net from litigation and wrongful termination lawsuits.
"Right away that employee claims, well you fired me because of my medical marijuana card. Now that would be fine, except, the employer won the day but now you're looking at a lot of attorney's fees for no reason," says one proponent.
"This bill does nothing to address job performance or impairment on the job, it simply targets medical cannabis patients. It reminds me strongly of legislation proposed in the early 80's targeting the homosexual community denying them access to jobs and public education, etc." says Doug Chyatte with Montanans for Responsible Legislation.
"If the guy that's running that machine, is not fully cognoscente of everything going on around him or her, there could be some tragic consequences," says Cary Hegreberg, Montana Contractors' Association.
"You're basically legalizing a kind of bigotry," says Tom Daubert with Patients and Families Unitied who opposed the bill for going too far.
The bill does not include prescription medication and medical cannabis advocates say the bill opens up currently exempt employees in the state of Montana to drug testing.
News Hawk: MedicalNeed 420 MAGAZINE
Source: kfbb.com
Author: Kacey Drescher
Contact: News, Sports, Weather for Great Falls, Helena, and all of Montana
Copyright: 2008 Max Media of Montana
Website:Medical Marijuana in the Workplace
