Louisiana Task Force Tackles Medical Marijuana & Employment In Bid To Protect Patients From Discrimination

To say that setting up a medical marijuana program with its required rules and regs is a challenge would be an understatement. One of the numerous complicated issues is employment. Louisiana has called in a task force.

The group held several meetings to create recommendations to resolve these issues, writes The Center Square.

Three subcommittees of the Employment and Medical Marijuana Task Force met on Tuesday and discussed the challenges around employment in the medical cannabis industry, including existing testing options and matters relating to “safety-sensitive” jobs, such as firefighters and first responders.

In June, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards (D) signed nearly 100 bills into law aimed at protecting medical marijuana patients. Among them was a bill from Rep. Mandie Landry (D) to provide workplace protections for state employees who are registered as medical marijuana (MMJ) patients.

However, some workers expressed concern that they could still be fired or face other repercussions for testing positive, which is why the statewide panel's three subcommittees are zeroing in on possible solutions.

Members of the task force summarized rules approved in New Jersey, Connecticut, Alabama and other states to protect workers from discrimination for MMJ consumption but also provisions to protect employers.

"Our neighbors to the north are just making sure employees are not coming in under the influence, and they’re not ingesting or using their medicine while they’re at work," said Kevin Caldwell, task force member representing the Marijuana Policy Project. "I think that it's the language we should most certainly be looking at in recommendations."

Caldwell outlined California's legislation that will take effect in 2024 and which “includes workers in building and construction trades and instances where federal contracts, licenses or funding require otherwise, and positions requiring a federal background clearance."

"I think this language is important, as well. I think it would protect a lot of the industries that have concerns about this, particularly the oil and gas industry," Caldwell said. "You’re going to have federal codes that supersede what the state does."

What About Safety Sensitive Positions? 

Caldwell pointed to the District of Columbia which allows for medical marijuana  exceptions and protections for employees impaired on the job, or if they work in safety-sensitive positions. 

"I think these are just some basic examples of where we can effectively go in the short term, and then possibly look down the road for further protections," he said. 

The Question Of Impairment

Troy Prevot, a physician's assistant engaged in employment drug testing, said there are many attempts to develop proper technology for impairment testing. 

"We have to somehow … deal with impairment," Prevot said. "You don’t want to penalize people who are legitimately taking medical marijuana who aren’t impaired."

He stressed the importance of defining safety-sensitive positions that were left out of the protections. "There is a lot of discussion about what that means," he said. "It’s a pretty broad definition."

What’s next? 

In the upcoming weeks, the task force will hear from firefighters, first responders, and others in safety-sensitive positions who need to consume medical marijuana.

Under the resolution authored by Rep. Landry, the task force is expected to send its recommendations to lawmakers by Feb. 1.

Photo: Courtesy of  Jeff W on Unsplash