Pittsburgh City Council may consider new labor protections for medical marijuana patients. A bill introduced Tuesday would prohibit employers from requiring people to be tested for marijuana if they have a prescription for it.
City Councilor Barb Warwick, who is sponsoring the bill, said those who are prescribed the drug are often unfairly penalized for taking it.
“Medical marijuana cardholders in the City of Pittsburgh have taken the time to secure legal permission from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to use cannabis to treat a medical condition,” Warwick said. “Excluding them from employment opportunities because of their medical condition is unfair and discriminatory.”
Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act was signed by former Gov. Tom Wolf in 2016: That same year, Pittsburgh decriminalized possession of a small amount of marijuana. Dispensaries began selling products to qualified patients in 2018. Three years later, the state expanded the list of medical conditions that qualify for the drug’s use in treatment.
But many employers have not updated their drug testing requirements to accommodate legal uses of marijuana. Warwick argues that has created an unnecessary barrier for patients.
“They are still unable in many cases to get work because of that,” Warwick said. “That’s discrimination [and] we wouldn’t do that for any other medical issue.”
Read full article https://www.wesa.fm/2024-07-09/pittsburgh-could-shield-medical-marijuana-patients-from-employer-drug-testing
