New bill impacting medical cannabis for employees

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. – House Bill 1862 makes it illegal for your company to fire or discipline you for using medical cannabis oil if you have written permission from a doctor.

“What impressed me is that this seems like a natural extension of the legalization we already have for medical purposes. It seemed like a natural extension to protect workers,” said Charles Allenburg, who practices federal labor law

He said the bill didn’t just protect employees.

“It offers employers some protection for legitimate business interests, a safe job and the opportunity to obtain contracts that could prevent such use,” Allenburg said.

The bill contains two caveats: on the one hand, an employer can take action against work impairment caused by cannabis oil, and on the other hand, the employer can take action if the bill would result in the employer losing federal contracts or federal funds.

The bill also gives employers disciplinary and dismissal rights if an employee is in possession of cannabis oil on company premises.

“We have a very large military presence here. Department contractors who would be very concerned if they lost the ability to get these federal contracts,” said Allenburg of Hampton Roads’ unique economy as he explained the consequences.

Jenn Michelle Pedini is executive director for the Virginia Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law (NORML) and Director of Development for the national organization for NORML.

“This is an important step forward. We have to work quickly to eliminate suspicious tests altogether,” said Pedini.

Medical marijuana groups have long pursued this protection.

“A medical working group met in the summer [and] This is one of the problems that we encountered while talking. It is very important for patients to be able to have a job during registration, “said Pedini.