The federal lawsuit that Governor Jan Brewer filed in May 2011 at the same time she stopped full implementation of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA) was tossed out yesterday. But don’t expect the state to start licensing medical marijuana dispensaries any time soon.Arizoneout has reported from time to time on the political and legal maneuvers that have created a worst-case scenario in which thousands of Arizonans have a state permit to use marijuana for medical purposes, but no legal way to obtain it other than growing their own.At the same time she sued, Governor Brewer halted the dispensary licensing
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Resolve To Adopt Defensible Workplace Policies On Medical Marijuana
On this the first work day of 2012 in most places of employment, it is an appropriate time to reflect on the past year and resolve to make changes for the year ahead. In my professional discussions about the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA), I find that employers typically have not had to confront the issue and thus are not taking proactive steps to develop policies they can defend.Nevertheless, the number of Qualified Patients (QPs) licensed by the state to use medical marijuana continues to grow. The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) has not yet issued its year-end report,
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Nurse’s Suit Alleges Firing In Violation Of AMMA
A for-profit hospice in Cottonwood is now a defendant in a lawsuit over allegations it fired a nurse because of her status as a Qualifying Patient (QP) cardholder under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA). Whether this is the first case to test the limits of the AMMA’s employment discrimination protections is hard to tell, but it certainly is going to be a closely watched one.The suit claims that the hospice, Verde Valley Community Hospice, LLC, hired Esther M. Shapiro in late July 2011. Shapiro allegedly became a legally registered QP Cardholder the month before she was hired by the
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Arizona legislature adopts expansive definition of safety-sensitive position
When crafting the tools to help employers implement the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA) earlier this year, the state legislature tried to be as generous as possible. Regardless of voters’ adoption of broad employment protections for Qualified Patients (QPs) authorized to use medical cannabis, the legislature wanted to provide a liability shield for employers who excluded the QPs in their workforce from performing safety-sensitive positions. Arizoneout explored in a recent post the parameters of this liability shield. The most important limitation is that the shield is available only to Arizona employers who adopt a testing program that complies with the
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Nifty New Provisions Offer Employers Shield From AMMA Liability
Earlier this year, the Arizona Legislature tried to help employers with implementation of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA). The vehicle used was the Drug Testing of Employees Act. So for Arizona employers who have adopted already or in the future adopt a drug testing program in compliance with the Act, there are some nifty new statutory provisions that may protect them from liability.Probably the most important new provision relates to safety-sensitive positions. The Drug Testing of Employees Act always has contained a section designed to protect employers from litigation for the actions they take in response to a positive
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Honor Indicates Interesting Ways AMMA Experiment Is Turning Out
Arizoneout is honored to be named one of the top 100 blogs about lawyers and the law as part of the ABA Journal’s 5th Annual Blawg 100. The Journal of the American Bar Association, the nation’s largest voluntary membership organization for lawyers, judges, and law students, received more than 1,300 nominations for the honor this year.My thanks to Tony Kessler of M. Lee Smith Publishers, who penned this wonderful word play for the Arizoneout nominating blurb: “Who would have ever thought that a blawg about medical marijuana in the workplace would take off and reach such dizzying heights? The
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Public Employers Face Extra Drug Testing Limits
Over several recent posts, Arizoneout has been examining the state Drug Testing of Employees Act, as the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA) has made adopting a compliant policy a high priority for many employers. That’s the case thanks to amendments the state legislature made to the Drug Testing of Employees Act earlier this year to ease implementation of the AMMA in Arizona workplaces.
The Drug Testing of Employees Act applies both to public and private employers. One of the ways the legislature amended the Act was to add into the definition of “employer” subject to its provisions the state of
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AMMA After A Year — Just As Confusing As Last Year
As November 3, 2010 dawned, the electoral fate of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA) was officially too close to call. The “No” side on Proposition 203, the voter initiative that made the AMMA law, held a 6,000-vote lead. More than a week later, when all the votes were counted, the “Yes” side led by fewer than 5,000 votes. By November 29, just 27 days after the last vote was cast, the Prop 203 victory was certified as official. Marijuana would be legal for medical purposes in the state.Upon the anniversary of the AMMA’s passage, the AMMA’s fate is just
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Two Sides Of Prop 203 Debate Hold Diametrically Opposed Views On Future Of AMMA
The Arizona Republic published an interesting point-counterpoint on Sunday about the half-way implementation of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA). In Q and A format, the Republic polled two of the leaders of the groups that supported and opposed Proposition 203 in the run up to the November 2010 election.Representing the victorious Arizona Medical Marijuana Association was Joe Yuhas. For its victory, his Association finds itself a defendant in the federal lawsuit that Governor Jan Brewer filed in April that brought a halt to implementing the dispensary system that is an integral part of the AMMA.On behalf of the losing
Continue Reading Two Sides Of Prop 203 Debate Hold Diametrically Opposed Views On Future Of AMMA