Quote:Pot may be legal in Colorado, but you can still be fired for using it.

Brandon Coats, a quadriplegic medical marijuana patient who was fired by the Dish Network after failing a drug test more than four years ago, says he still can't find steady work because employers are wary of his off-duty smoking.

In a case being closely watched around the country, Colorado's Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear arguments in Coats' case, which could have big implications for pot smokers in the first state to legalize recreational sales of the drug. The case highlights the clash between state laws that are increasingly accepting of marijuana use and employers' drug-free policies that won't tolerate it.

"Attitudes are changing toward marijuana. Laws are going to have to change, too," Coats told The Associated Press. "I'd like for this to enable people like me to find employment without being looked down upon."

abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/colorado-high-court-considers-pot-firing-case-25858504

As someone who is for legalization, I hope that employers can still fire/not hire people for using.

Legal pot advocates are now starting to realize there is much more to just legalizing something.

If I was an employer, I would not hire someone that uses marijuana, legal or not, simply because I know how it affects people.

"High Court"

ruling that employers can't use this in decisions would really open pandora's box.

I thought it was a mistake to legalize it without even having the technology to easily determine if someone is in fact high at a given moment in time. Opens up a can of worms. This being the first. Also, how do you prove a DUI?

(09-30-2014 08:46 AM)fsquid Wrote:  ruling that employers can't use this in decisions would really open pandora's box.

and it would be another strike against capitalism. More Government control.

I can't see it being treated any differently than alcohol. Being a drunk outside of work still reflects negatively, so should being a pot head.

(09-30-2014 08:51 AM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  

(09-30-2014 08:46 AM)fsquid Wrote:  ruling that employers can't use this in decisions would really open pandora's box.

and it would be another strike against capitalism. More Government control.

Exactly. The decision of who to hire/fire should be in the hands of the company, and if they don't want dopers, so be it.

Difference is I get drunk tonight, in the morning I may or may not be hung over and the alcohol is out of my system. I smoke a joint tonight, it'll still be shown in the system. Now the question is does the presence still cause a problem. As far as I know there's not a test that shows how fresh the THC is in your system.

I'm fine with legalizing marijuana, taxing it, and applying drinking laws to it (ex:must be 21, no driving, etc)

But employers should have the right to drug test, if they prefer.

Booze is legal, but you can still be fired for going to work drunk.

(09-30-2014 08:53 AM)BleedsHuskieRed Wrote:  

(09-30-2014 08:51 AM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  

(09-30-2014 08:46 AM)fsquid Wrote:  ruling that employers can't use this in decisions would really open pandora's box.

and it would be another strike against capitalism. More Government control.

Exactly. The decision of who to hire/fire should be in the hands of the company, and if they don't want dopers, so be it.

Dopers? God, you must be old...

I guess it would depend on the job. Some dude finishing drywall, Maybe I don't give a f%ck. Some dude working the ER is another matter.

(09-30-2014 08:40 AM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  Legal pot advocates are now starting to realize there is much more to just legalizing something.

If I was an employer, I would not hire someone that uses marijuana, legal or not, simply because I know how it affects people.

I hire them all the time...just like those that use booze. I make it clear that intoxication in the workplace is grounds for instant termination.

(09-30-2014 08:54 AM)gdunn Wrote:  Difference is I get drunk tonight, in the morning I may or may not be hung over and the alcohol is out of my system. I smoke a joint tonight, it'll still be shown in the system. Now the question is does the presence still cause a problem. As far as I know there's not a test that shows how fresh the THC is in your system.

Having residual levels of THC in your body and being high aren't the same things.

If I was a factory owner and I had somebody who was operating heavy machinery I'd prefer the guy who got high as hell the night before over the guy who got shitfaced. Well, I'd prefer neither but still.

I don't understand why an employer would even give a reason for a firing.