Global Ganja Report

In a sign of progress, the courts are increasingly siding with employees fired for use of cannabis under state medical marijuana programs. The latest such victory comes from Arizona, where precedent has been set. Other states, however, are still awaiting legal clarity on the question.

A former Arizona Walmart employee and card-holding medical marijuana patient who was fired after testing positive for cannabis has won a wrongful termination suit in federal court.

Canada's postal unions are contemplating a nationwide walk-out—exactly as legal mail-order cannabis deliveries are set to begin. Talks are ongoing, but if the strike is not averted, cannabis consumers could be left high and dry—especially in those provinces that are relying mostly or entirely on home deliveries.

After years of upholding employee firings for use of cannabis even under state medical marijuana programs, the courts are finally starting to turn around on the question.

One of the ways state medical marijuana programs have failed to fully extend protection to medicinal users is in failure to defend against employment discrimination. This is now beginning to change, thanks to a few recent court decisions in favor of patients and employees.

Among several cannabis-related bills signed into law by California's Gov. Jerry Brown was one creating an "equity" program for the state's legalized industry, aimed at justice and inclusion for those communities hardest hit by marijuana prohibition. Another measure will erase past convictions for possession of cannabis in quantities that are now legal.

As California legalizes cannabis on Jan. 1, it will be opening the door to multiple conflicts with the federal government. How state and federal authorities manage to negotiate the overlapping jurisdictions with now completely contradictory policies will be interesting to watch. In one obvious example, the Associated Press notes that state legalization won't stop federal agents from seizing even in small quantities at checkpoints they maintain on the Golden State's busy freeways.

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 770 has decided to take Los Angeles area cannabis dispensary workers under its wing. The union announced March 22 that "health care and grocery workers will welcome the medical cannabis workers and their successful organizing campaign into their union." Said Local 770 president Rick Icaza: "This is the next step in professionalizing and stabilizing this new sector of the health care industry. Unionization and collective bargaining bring better training, less turnover, and more stability to the health care industry. This is a positive step towards successfully integrating compassionate care into our system of health care." (LA Weekly, March 21)