Unemployment Benefits For MMJ Patients Safe Under New LA Bill, But Coming To Work Stoned Still A No-No

A measure that would protect employees in Louisiana who use medicinal cannabis against disqualification from getting unemployment benefits is advancing through the state legislature, reported Louisiana Illuminator.

House Bill 351, from Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, who has been fighting for workers’ right to use medical marijuana for years, passed the Louisiana House Labor Committee on a 6-5 vote on Thursday.

With the legislation, Landry is addressing the issue of consumer protections, which the state neglected, even though Governor John Bel Edwards signed a bill allowing medical marijuana patients to legally smoke whole-plant cannabis flower in 2021 shortly after decriminalizing marijuana possession.

“The Louisiana resident buys the product, then the consumer loses their job and no longer has the money to buy the product that the state says was legal,” Landry said. “We have a very strange circle here with the government not being very good at selling marijuana.”

While in the committee, the legislation was slightly amended to remove the provisions that would have given protection for workers filing for compensation.

The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) raised concerns about impairment in the workplace.

LABI member Wayne Fontana found the bill’s language that allows qualifying medical marijuana patients who receive a recommendation to not be disqualified for unemployment benefits, troubling.

“So if somebody is impaired, gets fired as a result of hurting themselves or some others, then they still would be able to get unemployment benefits,” Fontana said.

Coming To Work Stoned Is Still A No-No

Landry said her goal is not to allow those using medical marijuana to be “stoned at work,” calling that assumption “crazy.”

Landry’s 2022 legislative push sought to prevent prospective hires from being discriminated against for using medical cannabis. Gov. Edwards signed that bill in June. However, the measure also allowed state employers to penalize workers found to be intoxicated from marijuana on the job.

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