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    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?

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    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

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      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

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      John Ingold

      Denver Post

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      Andrew Cohen

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

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      Curtis Graves

      Mountain States Employers Council

      NewsNationalPolitics
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