ITG

Crowds pack hearing on medical marijuana

The conflict between federal and state laws makes it difficult for employers to achieve compliance

03/20/09 | Daily Journal of Commerce | Tom Henderson

When Oregon voters in 1998 decided to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, it was in defiance of federal drug laws.

Marijuana remains illegal under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal government’s right to ban marijuana in the case of Gonzalez vs. Raich.

Gary Conklin of Associated General Contractors of Oregon said that puts employers with workers who use marijuana for medical purposes in a precarious spot. “We believe employers are caught in the crosshairs of state and federal laws,” he told members of the House Business and Labor Committee on Wednesday.

Oregon walks a tightrope. Technically, it stays within the letter of the law. State authorities don’t prosecute people for medical marijuana use, but neither do authorities get in the way if federal authorities decide to bust patients or caregivers under federal drug laws.

Politics, so far, have kept federal authorities at bay while the issue continues to make its way through the courts.

Employers can’t perform that kind of balancing act, Conklin said. The federal Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988 requires many federal contractors and all federal grantees to agree that they will provide drug-free workplaces as a condition of receiving a contract or grant.

It’s next to impossible to comply with federal regulations while honoring Oregon’s medical marijuana law, Conklin added.

Marijuana sure is popular at the Oregon Legislature these days. The drug itself receives mixed reviews, but as a topic of conversation, there’s no denying marijuana’s staggering drawing power.

Many legislative committees play to empty rooms or a handful of lobbyists. When the Business and Labor Committee talked about medical marijuana and the workplace on Wednesday, however, there wasn’t an empty seat.

Medical marijuana is the subject of five bills this session. Two of the bills say employers don’t have to accommodate workers for medical marijuana. Another bill puts Oregon in the business of growing and distributing marijuana.

The other bills are designed to protect patients. One prohibits employers from discriminating against medical marijuana patients, and the other sets up a review process if drug testing discovers marijuana in a worker’s system.

Business and industry leaders generally like the idea of not having to accommodate workers who use marijuana. The patients, however, largely oppose that legislation and prefer the bill that protects them from discrimination.

As for Oregon starting to grow its own marijuana, opinions are split.

Employers need protection, said Rep. Bruce Hanna, R-Roseburg. He sponsored the legislation that enables them to fire or punish workers who use medical marijuana to the extent that it threatens safety or productivity.

His bill also states that employers don’t have to do anything to accommodate medical marijuana users. Medical marijuana is a devil in disguise, he said.

As many as 70 percent of the people who fail pre-hire drug tests are pot smokers, Hanna said. And Oregonians fail those tests 60 to 80 percent more than people in other states, he added.

“Medical marijuana is the leading threat to workplace safety in Oregon,” Hanna said.

Yet workplace accidents in Oregon have decreased since the medical marijuana law passed in 1998. Besides, said marijuana activist Larry Funk, there are no records linking accidents to marijuana.

Marijuana stays in the body for such a long period that there is no way to establish a cause-and-effect relationship, he added.

There are, no doubt, many people who abuse the medical marijuana law, said Madeline Martinez, the executive director of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) of Oregon. “People rob banks every day,” she said. “We don’t close down the banks.”

For Bob Russell, the president of the Oregon Trucking Association, the argument comes back to federal law. Drivers going from state to state are subject to drug testing. Oregon allows drivers to use medical marijuana while higher authorities insist it’s a federal offense, Russell said.

J.L. Wilson of Associated Oregon Industries said marijuana is no small problem for employers. “Oregon’s medical marijuana program is experiencing explosive growth,” he said.

“This explosive growth translates into far more cardholders in the workforce than ever originally contemplated. It magnifies employer concerns and makes a legislative solution to this issue absolutely necessary.”

There have been several legislative attempts to modify Oregon’s medical marijuana law. The only successful one was a 2005 bill to increase the amount of marijuana that patients could possess.

Former Rep. Donna Nelson, R-McMinnville, tried unsuccessfully two years ago to pass a bill prohibiting law enforcement officers from using medical marijuana. Last year, former legislator and gubernatorial candidate Kevin Mannix tried to get a measure on the ballot to scale back the law.

Jessica Barber of Portland, a medical marijuana patient, said she can’t help but take attempts to weaken the medical marijuana bill personally. While it sounds good to say employers don’t have to accommodate marijuana users, she said, there’s a darker agenda at work here.

“I see these bills as a perfect way for employers to get rid of sick employees,” she said. “If an employee is so sick that they need a medical card, there is a good chance that the employee may need additional insurance benefits, resulting in higher insurance premiums for the employer.

“What better way to rid the workplace of the sick or disabled than a handy discrimination law like this one?”

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It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.

DoobieBrother

“What better way to rid the workplace of the sick or disabled than a handy discrimination law like this one?”

Excellent retort!

It just goes to show that anyone opposing the accommodation of medicinal marijuana laws lack any amount of compassion for human beings.

diab1o_3000

I'm not sure if you were being serious or not, but I feel obliged to mention that the quote you mentioned seemed to be sarcastic remark about the discriminatory nature of the current laws. So that was indeed an excellent statement.

Buzzby

While that may be true for some, other employers would be in a serious legal and financial bind if the state passed a law making it illegal to discriminate against medical marijuana users and the federal government, their customer and contract-holder, requires that they discriminate if they want a contract.

Many businesses depend on federal government contracts in order to survive. Some people opposing the accommodation of medical marijuana patients may just be looking to keep their businesses solvent in a very negative economy.

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SleepyJohn

What ever happened to the Right of Privacy, if they take blood, urine,spit,and fingerprints from ya, that's a definite invasion of Personal Privacy. Of course we wouldn't want a stoned aircraft pilot,or eye surgeon, but if they where correct, they wouldn't do it. Like they posted before, State vs. Federal laws, valid, but Not The Same. Another one, for the 1 test fits all Chemicals/drugs, different effect, different temperament. Crowds packing Medical marijuana hearing couldn't be a bad sign.