Press Release: Medical Marijuana Employment Rights Bill Passes Both CA Houses
PRESS RELEASE
Americans for Safe Access
For Immediate Release:* August 20, 2008
Medical Marijuana Employment Rights Bill Passes Both California Houses / Anti-discrimination bill AB2279 now heads to the Governor's desk
Sacramento, CA -- A medical marijuana employment rights bill, which would protect hundreds of thousands of medical marijuana patients in California from employment discrimination, passed the State Senate today. AB2279 had already passed the State Assembly in May, which means the bill now heads to the Governor's desk. Advocates expect the bill to reach Schwarzenegger's desk in the next few weeks.
AB2279, introduced in February by Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and co-authored by Assemblymembers Patty Berg (D-Eureka), Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) and Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego), reverses a January California Supreme Court decision in the case /Ross v. RagingWire/. Support for the bill has been widespread, coming from labor, business, and health groups at the local and national level.
"Now that both houses of the California legislature have voted in favor of employment rights for medical marijuana patients, the onus is on Governor Schwarzenegger to do the right thing," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel with Americans for Safe Access, the medical marijuana advocacy group that argued the case before the Court and a sponsor of the bill. "The Governor has a chance to include medical marijuana patients as productive members of society, thereby protecting the jobs of thousands of Californians with serious illnesses such as cancer and HIV/AIDS."
The bill leaves intact existing state law prohibiting medical marijuana consumption at the workplace or during working hours and protects employers from liability by carving out an exception for safety-sensitive positions. "AB2279 is not about being under the influence while at work. That's against the law, and will remain so,"
said Mr. Leno, the bill's author. "It's about allowing patients who are able to work safely and who use their doctor-recommended medication in the privacy of their own home, to not be arbitrarily fired from their jobs," continued Mr. Leno. "The voters who supported Proposition 215 did not intend for medical marijuana patients to be forced into unemployment in order to benefit from their medicine."
On January 24, in a 5-2 decision, the California Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling that an employer may fire someone solely because they use medical marijuana outside the workplace. The plaintiff in the case, Gary Ross, is a 46-year old disabled veteran who was a systems engineer living Carmichael, California, when he was fired from his job in 2001 at RagingWire Telecommunications for testing positive for marijuana. The decision in /Ross v. RagingWire/ dealt a harsh blow to patients in the courts, shifting the debate to the state legislature.
But, before the court made its final decision, Ross enjoyed the support of ten state and national medical organizations, all of the original co-authors of the Medical Marijuana Program Act (SB 420), and disability rights groups. Since it began recording instances of employment discrimination in 2005, ASA has received hundreds of such reports from all across California.
Further information:
Employment rights legislation AB2279: http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/AB_2279.pdf
ASA web page on AB2279, including Fact Sheet and Letters of Support: http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/AB2279
Legal briefs and rulings in the Ross v. RagingWire case: http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/Ross
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Payday Loan Advocate's opinion
Comment posted by Anonymous on Sat, 10/18/2008 - 5:14amOne of the most watched events in recent television programming was the presidential debate, “town hall” style. Like many other Americans, I tuned in to watch despite my disillusionment with American government over the last couple of decades. I watched it without many expectations, knowing that no matter how direct a question was asked, the responses would be somewhat non-committal, and sound bite ready. The major news journals in the United States were certainly taking notes, as the New York Times depicted the debate as “90 minutes of forced cordiality” and the Boston Globe stated that it was “mercifully free” from the personal attacks I was beginning to get used to and tired of. It certainly was full of tension and made for good T.V., to say the least. McCain continues to pursue policies nearly identical to George W. Bush despite his “maverick” status, such as off shore drilling and staying the course in Iraq. (The irony is astounding: what makes him a maverick is that he wants to do the same things as one of the most unpopular presidents in living memory. The BIG joke is that he is rebelling against the American public.) Obama relied heavily on criticizing the Republican Party, stating that they were the ones that created this mess and he’s going to get us out of it. If we had to go by what they actually said, there’s no telling just which one is the best for getting our economy out of these turbulent times. Obama’s position on “predatory lending” is not a good solution – it’s sure to lead to more unemployment - is more a declaration of intent to appease the banking industry.
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