Listen Live
Donate
 on air
Schedule

KCRW

Read & Explore

  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Food
  • Culture
  • Events

Listen

  • Live Radio
  • Music
  • Podcasts
  • Full Schedule

Information

  • About
  • Careers
  • Help / FAQ
  • Newsletters
  • Contact

Support

  • Become a Member
  • Become a VIP
  • Ways to Give
  • Shop
  • Member Perks

Become a Member

Donate to KCRW to support this cultural hub for music discovery, in-depth journalism, community storytelling, and free events. You'll become a KCRW Member and get a year of exclusive benefits.

DonateGive Monthly

Copyright 2025 KCRW. All rights reserved.

Report a Bug|Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|
Cookie Policy
|FCC Public Files

Back to To the Point

To the Point

Marijuana Can Get You Fired -- Even When It's Legal

While the whole country is watching Washington State and Colorado to see how their laws legalizing marijuana work out, the federal government still considers pot to be an illegal substance and employers are caught in the middle. Should they follow federal or state law?

  • rss
  • Share
KCRW placeholderBy Judy Muller • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

While the whole country is watching Washington State and Colorado to see how their laws legalizing marijuana work out, the federal government still considers pot to be an illegal substance and employers are caught in the middle. Should they follow federal or state law? Do workers know they can still be fired for lighting up, even if it's off the job? It happened to a quadriplegic man using medical marijuana at home for his pain. Even before Colorado legalized marijuana for recreational use, Brandon Coats had permission to use medical marijuana to alleviate pain. During the day, he worked as a customer service representative, and when his employers announced that employees would be drug-tested, he was honest about his home use of medicinal cannabis. Yet, when he tested positive, Dish Network fired him. Is his case a cautionary tale?

  • KCRW placeholder

    Judy Muller

    University of Southern California

  • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

    Benjamin Gottlieb

    Reporter, Fill-in Host

  • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

    Jenny Hamel

    KCRW

  • Sonya Geis with wavy brown hair wearing a black dress with red accents and decorative earrings against a white background.

    Sonya Geis

    Senior Managing Editor

  • KCRW placeholder

    John Ingold

    Denver Post

  • KCRW placeholder

    Andrew Cohen

    senior editor at The Marshall Project, and a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice

  • KCRW placeholder

    Curtis Graves

    Mountain States Employers Council

    NewsNationalPolitics
Back to To the Point