Bussiness Ethics Assignment

U.S. NEWS I Updated April 25, 2013, 7:31 p.m, ET

Legal Pot Use in Colorado Could Still Get You Fired J...__A_rt_ic_le __ 1 Stock Quotes ~•••_c_o_m_m_e_n_ts_(3_2_)_1••• --------------

Email Print

By NATHAN KOPPEL

Medical and recreational marijuana use may be legal in Colorado, but

businesses in the state still have the right to fire people who test positive for

the drug, a Colorado appellate court ruled Thursday,

The Colorado Court of Appeals in Denver made its ruling in a case filed by

Brandon Coats, a quadriplegic who was fired by Dish Network LLC

IDISH -2.48% lin 2010 after he tested positive for marijuana, in violation of company policy,

Mr. Coats, who has a state-issued medical-marijuana license and says he

never used pot on the job, claimed in his suit that the satellite-TV provider's

policy violated a state law that bars companies from firing employees for their

off-duty, "lawful activity,"

The appeals court, affirming a lower-court decision, sided with Dish in ruling

that marijuana use doesn't qualify as "lawful" because it is barred by federal

law, This ruling doesn't invalidate the state's marijuana laws, Colorado law

doesn't "extend employment protection to those engaged in activities that

violate federal law," the court ruled.

Michael Evans, counsel for Mr. Coats, said he will appeal. "Brandon was a

great employee," Mr. Evans said. 'We have the facts on our side; now, we just

need the law." Dish Network didn't respond to a request for comment.

"We feel it is profoundly unfair to fire someone who may have smoked a joint

on the weekend but is perfectly sober and productive in the workplace," said

Ethan Nadelmann, the Executive Director of the New York-based Drug Policy

Alliance, which advocates for the legalization of marijuana.

Tom Bugnitz, Chief Executive of the Colorado Association for Manufacturing

and Technology, said it is important to give companies the flexibility to conduct

drug tests and to fire employees whose drug use raises concerns.

Companies "want to keep people from showing up at work in such a way that

they endanger other employees and our products," he said.

A growing number of states authorize medical marijuana use-and two states,

Colorado and Washington, have passed laws allowing recreational pot use.

But in many of those states, the question of whether employers can fire

workers for using the drug remains legally murky, said Robert Mikos, a

professor at Vanderbilt Law School who is an expert on drug law.

"The few courts that have confronted the issue have not read state law to

protect marijuana users" against being fired, Mr. Mikos said. But he added that

at least two states, Arizona and Delaware, have passed laws that restrict the

firing of medical-marijuana users unless they are shown to have been impaired

on the job. Colorado has no such law.

Write to Nathan Koppel at [email protected]

A version of this article appeared April 26, 2013, on page AS ill the U.S, edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Legal Pot Use ill Colorado Could Still Gel You Fired,