Prescription Marijuana Use

[lunapink]

I have been professionally diagnosed with severe chronic depression which effects my ability to function properly without medication. I was prescribed a legal CA medical marijuana prescription 2 years ago and only use it within the limits of CA laws and never while on duty. I have been working at my current job for 1 year 6 months. When hired, I was not required to take any drug tests. Now my employers are changing the drug policy so that all employees must submit to drug testing. I know for a fact that there is another employee in my department who takes prescribed medications for anxiety (while on duty) and this is known and accepted by our employers. Is it, then, legal for them to fire me for taking prescribed marijuana on my personal time and not while on duty?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[ecmst12]

If the testing company treats this like any other prescription, then after they verify the prescription with your doctor, they would report the test as negative.

 

[swalsh411]

If the testing company treats this like any other prescription, then after they verify the prescription with your doctor, they would report the test as negative.

You may be completely 100% right but I do not believe "legal marijuana users" are a protected class so it would still not be illegal for an employer to fire the OP for this reason.

 

[justalayman]

If the testing company treats this like any other prescription, then after they verify the prescription with your doctor, they would report the test as negative.

and the testing company would have access to medical records protected by HIPAA laws how?


they simply report their findings. It is up to the hiring agency to deal with the results however they choose to.


unless there has been a more recent court ruling, in California it is legal for an employer to discharge an employee for the use of mj, even if that employee has a medical use permit


the ruling in Ross v. Ragingwire Telecommunications, Inc. from the California Supreme Court ruled such in 08.

 

[ecmst12]

With other medications, the testing company will call the employee, ask if they have a prescription for the substance found, and the employee will provide the prescription information. The testing company then calls the doctor or the pharmacy to confirm there is a valid script for the substance, and if everything checks out, the employer never finds out what was found, the test is reported as negative. I have to deal with this for my ADD meds which show up as amphetamines. I have no idea if mj is treated the same in states that have legal medical mj.

 

[justalayman]

I can assure you that is not true in many cases. I know people that were nabbed on drug tests (for actual illegal drugs). When testing, most of the time, you sign a form allowing the lab to report to the entity demanding the test. As such, that is who they provide results to.

In fact, I know of a guy on an ADHD med (Vitalic I think), that when he was tested, the EMPLOYER contacted the employee and told him it came back as a dirty test. At that point, he gave the info concerning the medication to the employer and permission to investigate.

Until the employer received verification from the prescribing doctor that is was a valid prescription, my friend was not allowed to begin work.

as to medical marijuana, in MI and CA, an employer can refuse to allow you to use it and remain employed.

 

[janimal]

Here's how it works:
You take the test. You may or may be asked at the time of the test to disclose to the testing facility that you are taking any prescription medication that may affect the test.
Your sample is positive.
Your results are given to a medical review officer at the testing lab. The MRO reaches out to you to see if you are taking any prescription medication that could explain your positive result.
IF they are able to confirm your prescription, the testing company reports back to your employer your results are clear. If they cannot confirm any such prescription, they will disclose to the employer the results of the test, what drug, at what level, etc.

The thing is, when a urine test is negative, generally the results are read very quickly, and your employer can expect a result within 24 hours or so. If your results are delayed, then your employer is tipped off that something was sent to the MRO, even if they get a (delayed) negative result. Although they should never know what prescription medication you were taking that caused the medical review.

So - my guess is that as long as you are able to prove you have a valid prescription - you should pass the drug test. As far as your relationship with your employer - can't say...

 

[justalayman]

claim what you want but I know for a fact that it does not always work that way.

He took the drug test and reported to the job site. He was approached the following day by the employer and told of the situation where then provided the prescription situation to the employer. He was not allowed to step foot on the job site until the employer had a statement from the guys doctor that there was a valid prescription for the drugs found.

I have NEVER met a person who was contacted by the testing lab (and I know about half a dozen guys that tested pos for several different drugs, some legit and legal, some not). The entity paying for the test is who was informed. That release has been included in every release I have been required to sign when taking a piss test.

then, the entity that ordered the test then had the opportunity to pay for a higher level test that discriminates better illegal and legal drugs as many of the legal drugs do show up on a test as a positive.

then, those results were forwarded to the entity ordering the test (employer).

and regardless, since I have provided proof that California allows you to be fired for marijuana use regardless of whether it is MM or not, your argument would be unlikely to bear out as factual.

and suspicion due to more than a 24 hour delay without a result?

If they want an immediate result, a dip test can be done immediately. Once it goes to the lab, it takes what it takes.

The last place I had to drug test for work was doing about 200 tests that day (for the job I was reporting to let alone what they did for a typical day of business) so expecting a result in 24 hours was simply not realistic let alone justification to suspect drug use.