Florida law requires employers to consider accommodations for off-duty use of medical marijuana, a Florida state court has held and granted the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment....more
Nebraska voters approved medical cannabis measures, while voters in Florida, North Dakota, and South Dakota rejected ballot initiatives to legalize recreational cannabis on election day....more
11/8/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Ballot Measures ,
Cannabis Products ,
Caregivers ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Employment Practices Act ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Plant Based Products ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Agenda
The Pittsburgh City Council unanimously passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against medical marijuana patients in the workplace and limiting certain types of marijuana drug testing by employers as to these...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in the Federal Register on May 21, 2024. If the...more
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will recommend that marijuana should be rescheduled from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug, according to an announcement made April 30, 2024 by the U.S. Department of Justice. ...more
5/2/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
DEA ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
OMB ,
Recreational Use ,
Schedule I Drugs
Joining 23 other states, Ohio has passed a recreational marijuana law. On November 7, 2023, Ohioans voted to pass an initiative legalizing and regulating the cultivation, sale, purchase, possession, use, and home growth of...more
Under a new Minnesota law legalizing recreational marijuana, beginning August 1, 2023, individuals 21 years of age or older may possess or transport up to two ounces of cannabis flower in public and to possess up to two...more
Delaware became the latest state to legalize recreational marijuana on April 23, 2023 when the state’s Governor failed to veto two bills that allow for the legalization of marijuana, effective immediately. Individuals who...more
A Pennsylvania Court held that an employer violated the state Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA) by refusing to reimburse an employee for out-of-pocket medical marijuana expenses related to a workplace injury....more
As the final tally of ballots comes in for many electoral races across the country, the outcomes of the various state ballot measures that were also part of the Nov. 8 midterm elections could require changes to employers’...more
Voters in Maryland and Missouri approved laws to legalize recreational marijuana on Election Day 2022. Recreational marijuana ballot initiatives did not pass in Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota....more
The changing legal landscape relating to marijuana usage means that employers, especially those with safety sensitive positions or who are subject to federally mandated compliance requirements, need to review their current...more
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed legislation legalizing medical cannabis on February 2, 2022. Known as the “Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act”, the law permits the use of medical cannabis to treat certain debilitating...more
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation legalizing medical cannabis on May 17, 2021. Known as the Darren Wesley “Ato” Hall Compassion Act, the law permits the use of medical cannabis to treat certain medical conditions...more
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that an employer and its workers’ compensation carrier must reimburse an injured worker for his medical marijuana expenses. Hager v. M&K Construction, 2021 N.J. LEXIS 332 (N.J. April 13,...more
4/22/2021
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
NJ Supreme Court ,
Opioid ,
Reimbursements ,
State and Local Government ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation legalizing recreational marijuana on March 31, 2021. The legalized use of marijuana is effective immediately, even though retail sales of marijuana are not expected to begin...more
4/2/2021
/ Cannabis Products ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Testing ,
DUI ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA) ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Recreational Use
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law three marijuana reform bills on February 22, 2021. The first, New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (A21), legalizes and...more
Voters in Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota approved laws to legalize marijuana on Election Day 2020. Recreational marijuana was approved in Arizona, Montana, and New Jersey, while Mississippi voters...more
A federal court in Tennessee dismissed an employee’s lawsuit in which she claimed that her employer should have changed its drug policy to allow CBD use. Hamric v. City of Murfreesboro, Case No. 3:18-cv-01239 (September 10,...more
Louisiana’s governor signed into law on June 11, 2020 a measure amending the state’s medical marijuana law to make it easier for patients to obtain medical marijuana. The current version of Louisiana’s medical marijuana law...more
An employer may terminate an employee for refusing to submit to a drug test based on reasonable suspicion under the state drug testing law, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has held. Colpitts v. W.B. Mason Co., Inc., No....more
The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit against an employer who terminated an employee for refusing to submit to a reasonable suspicion drug test, even though the employee’s odd behaviors could have...more
A Pennsylvania court affirmed an order of the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review holding a claimant to be eligible for unemployment benefits after her employer terminated her employment for testing positive for...more
The New York City Commission on Human Rights issued a written reminder on May 8, 2020 that the law prohibiting pre-employment marijuana testing is effective on May 10, 2020. In addition, the Commission stated that it is...more
A New York state court denied summary judgment to an employer that terminated an employee for testing positive for marijuana, when the employee obtained a medical marijuana certification prior to the termination decision....more