Colorado legislators have introduced a bill that, if passed, would prohibit employers from firing or refusing to hire an employee based on the use of medical or recreational marijuana.
House Bill 1152 seeks to allow people to use marijuana outside of work without negative professional consequences, preventing employers from firing, refusing to hire, demoting, refusing to promote or harassing an employee over marijuana use. The bill would also allow card-carrying medical marijuana users to use the drug during work hours on the employer’s premises.
Critics, notably businesses, said the legislation would create unsafe working conditions.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Edie Hooton, D-Boulder, said her intention is to protect the rights of Coloradans who use medical marijuana for health conditions, such as chronic pain and seizures, calling it “grossly unfair” that these users lose out on employment opportunities that require drug tests.
“Those using medical marijuana, which is legal in Colorado, are discriminated against,” Hooton said. “People are using medical marijuana to manage symptoms. They’re not using it to get stoned. It’s really unfair that people get fired or don’t get hired because they use medical marijuana.”
Hooton said she included off-work recreational marijuana use in the bill because she wants to make sure “no gray area”…
