Ohio marijuana legalization issue's potential to reach into workplace stirs business concerns

With medical marijuana taking over the country, the issue of employer drug testing has become a hot topic as people allover the country are being fired for testing positive for a state-legalized drug. Most medical marijuana laws specifically protect patients from being federally prosecuted, but are not written to protect them from employer drug testing. Many employers and employees alike agree that similar to other prescription drugs and alcohol, that keeping marijuana out of the workplace with not be an issue. For major change to erupt, a marijuana-related termination appeal must make it to supreme court thus changing federal law for employers everywhere.

Pending now, though, in the Colorado Supreme Court is a case that questions whether an employer can fire a worker for legal use of medical marijuana when Colorado's statutes make marijuana use a "lawful" activity. The plaintiff in the case, a quadriplegic who smoked medical marijuana legally while away from work, argues the state's statute allowing his medical marijuana use should protect him from termination.