A Thomas Jefferson University Employee Was Fired Over Medical Marijuana Use. So She Fired Back.

May 20, 2021

3 min read

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A former employee of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia has sued the school for wrongful termination. She claims to have used medical marijuana on a doctor’s orders, but the university fired her after a drug test found THC in her blood.

What attracted more attention to the case is that Thomas Jefferson University is the home of the Lambert Center for the Study of Medical Cannabis and Hemp. The University founded the center with a donation of $ 3 million by the Australian couple Barry and Joy Lambert.

As he donated, Lambert hoped that the University’s “innovative, scientific approach would prove to the medical profession the benefits and safety of medical cannabis for a wide range of diseases, not just childhood epilepsy.”

The former employee who filed the lawsuit, Donna Hudnell, told the Philadelphia Inquirer on the school’s research: “How ironic and yet you have no leniency with your medical marijuana policy.”

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Here’s what the former employee said:.

Hudnell, 60, said she had suffered from chronic back pain for many years. The situation has only worsened with age. She told the investigator that she had problems “sitting, walking, sleeping”.

Her doctor recommended medical marijuana, and it worked. She was in less pain. But then the university asked her to take a drug test after she returned from medical vacation. She had had back surgery in hopes of further reducing the pain.

Hudnell’s medical marijuana card had expired two months before the 2019 test. Hudnell explained to the subject that she had a doctor’s appointment the following week to get the annual recertification required to use medical marijuana.

But Hudnell was fired five days later – the same day she recertified the card, it turned out. The university told Hudnell that it had violated drug and alcohol policies.

She has now filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the university violated Pennsylvania law that does not allow you to fire a person for using medical marijuana. When she lost her job, Hudnell had worked in the university’s IT department for five years.

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The case puts the spotlight on drug testing and marijuana.

While Hudnell will have the opportunity to resolve all of this in court – the university has not dismissed the case or commented on the case because it is ongoing – the problem of drug testing for marijuana remains a major issue.

This is because THC, the active chemical in cannabis, stays in the blood for many days. Someone like Hudnell, who has been using medical marijuana as prescribed by a doctor for a year, has THC in their bloodstream. The same goes for someone who smokes a joint on Friday night and then gets a drug test on Monday morning.

Legal observers told the investigator that many are pursuing the Thomas Jefferson University case because it could set a precedent for how other employers deal with such cases.

In the meantime, some have simply ditched drug testing for cannabis. Even the NFL, which recently changed its rules on marijuana use, is not banning players who test positive for THC.

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