b'LEGAL MATTERSRight to Use Medically PrescribedLEGAL MATTERSMarijuana at Work DeniedSTEVEN E. BERS, ESQ. // PVA GENERAL COUNSELW ith so many states autho- The decision lends support for marineCourtclarifiedthattheunderlying rizingtherighttouseemployerswhoareincreasinglycon- anxietydisorderwouldremainpro-marijuanaformedicalfronted with claims of use entitlement.tected against discrimination and eli-purposes, what can a passenger vesselThe Federal Court made clear that thegible for reasonable accommodation. employer do when an employee claimslaw of the land is not changed by states he or she has a medical marijuana card,which allow medical usethe use re- No doubt, the razor-thin distinction and thus the right, under the Ameri- mainsillegalunderallFederallaws,betweenwhetheranemployerhas cans with Disabilities Act (ADA), toincludingthoseadministeredbytheimposed discipline due to marijuana use marijuana at work?U.S. Coast Guard.use at work, or whether employer ac-tion was taken due to the underlying In a case successfully defended on be- Althoughholdingthatanemployeemedicalreasonformarijuanause, half of a Maryland employer by PVAsis not protected in using marijuana atmay present a source of challenge in General Counsel, Steven Bers, beforework, the Court noted that employeesfuturecases.Asthelegallandscape theU.S.DistrictCourtforMary- are protected from discrimination, ifdefining marijuana usage remains in land, just such a claim was made bybased upon an employees underlyingflux,employersarestronglyadvised an employee challenging a Marylandmedicalconditiontreatedbymari- to seek counsel before taking adverse employers right to terminate employ- juana use. In this case, the employeeactions, even with regard to employees ment due to the use of medically-pre- claimedananxietydisorder.Theclaiming medical approval. scribedmarijuanaduringworking hours. The employee claimed that un-der the ADA, he enjoyed the right to usemarijuana,medicallyprescribed, toaddresshisanxietydisorder,asa reasonable ADA accommodation for his disability. We take the heat, so you dont have to.The U.S. District Court disagreed, not-Cool. Because you need it. We deliver cool based on ing that the language of the ADA doesyour reality. So no matter where you operate, hot days notprotectemployeesinthecurrentand heavy loads will never slow you down. workplaceuseofmarijuana.Reach-ing its decision, the Court noted that under Federal law marijuana remains a Schedule 1 controlled substance. Ac-cordingly, a states statute purporting to allow medical use does not alter theGRIDCOOLERWEKA Omegalegal status of marijuana and does notKeel Cooler Boxcooler Laser Plateprovide legal protection for use under Federal statutes, including the ADA. fernstrum.com| 1.906.863.5553| sales@fernstrum.com ISO 9001:2015 2023 R.W. Fernstrum & Company. All rights reserved. FERNSTRUM and GRIDCOOLER are registered trademarks of R.W. Fernstrum & Company. All other trademarks cited are the property of their respective owners.39 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025'