NY Supreme Court's Landmark Ruling Upholds Medical Marijuana Patient's Rights Under Human Rights Law

In a landmark ruling, New York state Supreme Court Justice Rebecca A. Slezak upheld a jury’s decision to award over $191,000 to a former wastewater treatment worker who was fired for testing positive for legally prescribed medical marijuana for chronic back pain.

Despite the vigorous post-verdict legal battle to overturn or reduce the jury's verdict, Slezak ordered the city to reinstate Thomas Apholz to his job as well as pay an additional $149,107 for his legal fees.

The verdict marks the first time in New York where an employer was found to have violated the state Human Rights Law that deems someone with a legal medical marijuana recommendation as having a disability, making them part of a protected class. 

What Happened

Apholz, 44, was fired by the city of Amsterdam's Mayor Michael Cinquanti in 2020 after testing positive for marijuana in February 2020 during a random drug screening under a “last chance agreement” following a prior marijuana-related incident in 2017.

Despite holding a valid medical marijuana recommendation from a physician and having informed city officials that he was using it for back pain, Apholz’s dismissal went forward, reported Times Union.

"What business is it for the city to say what medicine a doctor can prescribe for an employee off duty? The city should get out of Mr. Apholz's private doctor-patient decisions and let him just do the job at which he excelled," said his attorney Kevin A. Luibrand, who praised the jury’s decision to reinstate Apholz and cover legal fees.

Apholz’s case, which underscores the legal protection afforded to medical marijuana users and employers’ obligations to accommodate them, sets a precedent in New York’s legal landscape, noted the outlet. Medical marijuana has been legal in NY since January 2016 under the Compassionate Care Act.

US Supreme Court Takes Up Another Case

Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving a trucker who sued Medical Marijuana, Inc. MJNA after he was fired due to testing positive for THC that he says was caused by consuming what he believed was a hemp-derived CBD product.

Douglas Horn filed a lawsuit against the cannabis company in 2015 under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, alleging that the company falsely advertised the product as having "0% THC" which is why he was using it to alleviate pain, reported Marijuana Moment.

While a lower court sided with Horn and allowed the RICO suit to proceed, Medical Marijuana, Inc appealed the ruling with the Supreme Court, where justices are expected to take up the case soon.

Now Read: Cansortium Revenue Grows In 2023 Thanks To Florida, Net Loss Declines

Photo: Shutterstock