A bill that has cleared the Utah Legislature would protect state employees who use medical cannabis from discrimination, according to a Deseret News report.
Senate Bill 46 requires state and local governments to treat medical cannabis prescriptions the same as they treat prescriptions for other controlled substances, the news outlet reported.
The legislation was inspired by Levi Coleman, an Ogden firefighter who was suspended without pay after he refused to give up his medical cannabis prescription, according to Deseret News. Coleman ultimately sued the fire department and the city last year, arguing that his suspension violated Utah’s medical cannabis law, which passed in 2018.
Rep. Joel Ferry (R-Brigham City) introduced S.B. 46 to close a “loophole” in the law that puts registered medical cannabis patients like Coleman at risk, Deseret News reported.
“What this bill does is it provides some clarity to what the legislative intent was … in recognizing medical cannabis as a legitimate use of cannabis for treating certain ailments such as chronic pain,” Ferry told the news outlet.
While the legislation does not specifically address government employees who report to work under the influence of cannabis, Ferry told fellow lawmakers that governments would still be able to discipline employees in this situation, Deseret News reported.
The Senate approved the bill in a 26-1 vote last month, according to the news outlet, while the House passed the legislation in a 68-4 vote Feb. 2.
S.B. 46 now goes to Gov. Spencer Cox for his signature.
