A Battle Creek man, who uses marijuana for medicinal purposes, is suing Wal-Mart for firing him after he injured himself at work, received treatment and tested positive for marijuana during a drug test.
The lawsuit was filed in Calhoun County Circuit Court today by the American Civil Liberties Union, in partnership with a law firm, on behalf of Joseph Casias, 30, who has an inoperable brain tumor and is in remission for sinus cancer, and uses marijuana to alleviate his pain.
In 2008, Michigan voters approved medical marijuana use.
According to the lawsuit filed today, the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, "protects employees from being disciplined for their use of medical marihuana" in accordance with the law.
At the recommendation of his oncologist, Casias applied with the state so he could legally use marijuana and, in June 2009, received his card from the Michigan Department of Community Health, the lawsuit says.
Dan Korobkin, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Michigan, said today that Casias only uses the drug at night and never used it at work or came to work under the influence.
In November 2009, Casias twisted his knee at work while pushing a cart. The next day at work, he had trouble walking, and was driven by a store manager to receive treatment. The lawsuit claims Wal-Mart has a policy requiring drug tests for employees injured at work.
Though Casias showed a store manager his card indicating he could legally use marijuana under state law, he was ultimately fired for testing positive for the drug, the lawsuit says.
Wal-Mart released a statement today, calling the situation "unfortunate."
"We are sympathetic to Mr. Casias' condition but, like other companies, we have to consider the overall safety of our customers and associates, including Mr. Casias, when making a difficult decision like this. In this case, the doctor-prescribed treatment was not the relevant issue. The issue is about the ability of our associates to do their jobs safely," the statement says.
"This is becoming more of an issue. As more states allow this treatment, employers are left without any guidelines except the federal standard. In these cases, until further guidance is available, we will always default to what we believe is the safest environment for our associates and customers."
Korobkin said this lawsuit – the first of its kind he knows of in the state – could be precedent setting.
"This is a path-breaking case to protect all of the patients in Michigan, whose rights are now protected by Michigan law," he said.
"I think it's important to send a message that even though" Wal-Mart is "a very large corporation, they don't write the laws."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Detroit Free Press
Author: Gina Damron
Copyright: 2010 Detroit Free Press
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
The lawsuit was filed in Calhoun County Circuit Court today by the American Civil Liberties Union, in partnership with a law firm, on behalf of Joseph Casias, 30, who has an inoperable brain tumor and is in remission for sinus cancer, and uses marijuana to alleviate his pain.
In 2008, Michigan voters approved medical marijuana use.
According to the lawsuit filed today, the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, "protects employees from being disciplined for their use of medical marihuana" in accordance with the law.
At the recommendation of his oncologist, Casias applied with the state so he could legally use marijuana and, in June 2009, received his card from the Michigan Department of Community Health, the lawsuit says.
Dan Korobkin, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Michigan, said today that Casias only uses the drug at night and never used it at work or came to work under the influence.
In November 2009, Casias twisted his knee at work while pushing a cart. The next day at work, he had trouble walking, and was driven by a store manager to receive treatment. The lawsuit claims Wal-Mart has a policy requiring drug tests for employees injured at work.
Though Casias showed a store manager his card indicating he could legally use marijuana under state law, he was ultimately fired for testing positive for the drug, the lawsuit says.
Wal-Mart released a statement today, calling the situation "unfortunate."
"We are sympathetic to Mr. Casias' condition but, like other companies, we have to consider the overall safety of our customers and associates, including Mr. Casias, when making a difficult decision like this. In this case, the doctor-prescribed treatment was not the relevant issue. The issue is about the ability of our associates to do their jobs safely," the statement says.
"This is becoming more of an issue. As more states allow this treatment, employers are left without any guidelines except the federal standard. In these cases, until further guidance is available, we will always default to what we believe is the safest environment for our associates and customers."
Korobkin said this lawsuit – the first of its kind he knows of in the state – could be precedent setting.
"This is a path-breaking case to protect all of the patients in Michigan, whose rights are now protected by Michigan law," he said.
"I think it's important to send a message that even though" Wal-Mart is "a very large corporation, they don't write the laws."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Detroit Free Press
Author: Gina Damron
Copyright: 2010 Detroit Free Press
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
