Newsworthy Medical, Recreational Marijuana Law Suits

(Spring 2017) The Colorado Supreme Court recently handed down a decision stating that law enforcement agents are not required to give cannabis plants back to a man found not guilty of alleged marijuana-associated wrongdoings. With this precedent set, police in the Centennial State can resume disposing of cannabis confiscated in a criminal investigation.

The Court’s decision ends the argument concerning a segment of Colorado’s Constitution which mandates that medical marijuana taken from a person later cleared of a Colorado drug charge must be restored to that individual. The judges ruled that Colorado’s law is superseded by the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Differing judgment by lower Colorado courts on the issue put local police in jeopardy of federal prosecution in any instance of giving back cannabis they had previously impounded.

Meanwhile, Colorado also played a major role in a recreational marijuana case. A Texas administrative law judge decided that Maryam Roland, a Texas high-school teacher, was within her rights to use marijuana while in Colorado. When Roland’s hair sample tested positive for the drug, she explained that she had consumed a marijuana edible when she was in Colorado over the school’s 2014-2015 winter break. The judge reasoned that because the drug is legal in Colorado, she should not be punished for it by her job in her home state.

The case was brought forward by the Texas Education Agency, which wanted to revoke Roland’s license for two years. Roland left her job in February 2015, as a suspension would have marred her ability to obtain future teaching positions.

Disciplining Roland, the administrative law judge reasoned, would be akin to punishing a person who gambled at a Nevada casino and then went home to Texas, where gambling is prohibited. The judge went on to state that the education agency should not pursue action against Roland’s licensure. An Agency spokeswoman, however, comments that the State Board for Educator Certification will also examine the issue. The Board’s actions could include suspension, reprimand or revocation of Roland’s teaching certificate.

It’s important to note here that, even in states where medical or recreational marijuana is legal, employers are still within their rights to terminate a worker who violates the company’s drug-free workplace standards. Cases such as this bring to light the ambiguity various states’ cannabis legislation creates for workers who use it, whether they reside in a state where it is permitted or live in a state where it is illegal.

It’s been reported that cases like this are becoming increasingly widespread.

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