By Matt Ferner | The Huffington Post
Brandon Coats, who is suing his former employer, Dish Network, for firing him in 2010 for using medical marijuana outside the office to treat his debilitating pain.
Brandon Coats, a quadriplegic medical marijuana patient from Colorado, was fired by Dish Network in 2010 for taking his medicine while off duty, in the privacy of his own home.
Coats, who uses medical marijuana to treat debilitating muscle spasms from a spinal injury that left him in a wheelchair, had been a model employee. But Dish Network’s zero-tolerance drug policy prohibits marijuana use, even for medical reasons. When Coats, a customer service representative, tested positive for cannabis during a routine drug test, he was immediately terminated. Because marijuana remains illegal on the federal level, employers can fire a medical marijuana patient who fails a drug test, even in states where it’s legal for medical use.
“It was devastating,” said Coats, 34. “I had that job for three years. I was dependent on that for my life.”
Statement by Ryan Hurley: “Fortunately for patients, Arizona’s law specifically protects employees from discrimination based on medical marijuana use. Employers should talk to Rose Law Group to revise their drug policies and handbooks accordingly, and patients should contact us if they have been discriminated against.
If you’d like to discuss employment or health care law, contact David Weissman, dweissman@roselawgroup.com
If you’d like to discuss marijuana issues, contact Ryan Hurley, director of the Rose Law Group Medical Marijuana Dept. rhurley@roselawgroup.com
