Drug Free Policy Summary

Legalization of marijuana has been a hot topic in most states and which states are going to legalize the use of marijuana. The article I will be rebuttal is “Legal Use of Marijuana Clashes with Job Rules” posted in the New York Times on September 7, 2014. Brandon Coates lost his job due to the use of marijuana but lives in Colorado, which marijuana is legal. Even though the state approved the use of marijuana, most employers have not lifted their drug free policies. The state allows the use of marijuana but companies are still enforcing their drug free policies. Employees caught violating the company’s drug free workplace rules will be terminated. Brandon Coates happened to be one of these employees fired by Dish Network for violating the drug free policy. Brandon Coates was selected for a random drug test by Dish Network, and he knew he would fail the test. Brandon was “paralyzed in car accident and uses medical marijuana since 2009 for painful spasms that jolts his body “(Healy, 2014, para. 1). Brandon then states he smoked mostly at night and marijuana has never hurt his performance answering customer calls (Healy, 2014). What does that mean mostly smoked at night, does he sometimes smoke in the afternoon. The fact Brandon did not choose his wording in his interview leads the …show more content…
This mean if the employee’s tests positive then they can be fired. This article states Brandon has been using medical marijuana, yet the article leads you to believe there was no medical card for Brandon. If the marijuana was for medical purpose then there should have been a medical card on file with the employer. Medical marijuana requires a medical card so employees do not get fired for using marijuana for medical purposes. Brandon has filed a lawsuit against Dish Networks. If Brandon wins the law suit then this could change how business treat marijuana users in the