Washington, DC enacts law to protect cannabis-consuming employees

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Government workers can no longer be punished because they consume medical marijuana

Washington, DC has just passed a local law that could ultimately have positive ramifications for the entire marijuana industry in the US. At the doorsteps of Capitol Hill, government workers can no longer be punished just because they consume marijuana in accordance with DC’s medical marijuana program. Brining awareness of the subject to the front lines of Congress should prove to generate more interest on a national level.

Since DC operates a little differently than most states, the law still has to be approved by Congress after a 30-day review period. It states that a “public employer may not refuse to hire, terminate from employment, penalize, fail to promote, or otherwise take adverse employment action against an individual based upon the individual’s status as a qualifying patient unless the individual used, possessed, or was impaired by marijuana at the individual’s place of employment or during the hours of employment.”

The bill adds, “A qualifying patient’s failure to pass a public employer-administered drug test for marijuana components or metabolites may not be used as a basis for employment-related decisions unless reasonable suspicion exists that the qualified patients was impaired by marijuana at the qualifying patient’s place of employment or during hours of employment.”

As should be expected, there are some exceptions. Workers in “safety sensitive positions” are exempt from the law’s coverage, as are employees who are part of an organization that would have their government agreement jeopardized by marijuana consumption.

The law was passed by a vote of 13-0 after only one reading and didn’t require Mayor Muriel Bowser’s signature. It will be introduced on a temporary basis for 225 days in anticipation of approval by Congress.