Does it give medical marijuana users a cause of action if they are fired?
Again, Colorado courts have yet to address the specific issue of whether card-carrying medical marijuana users can sue under the medical marijuana law if they are fired for medical marijuana use. However, several states have found no explicit or implicit cause of action based on medical marijuana statutes or claims based on the theory of wrongful termination in violation of public policy. For example, in Roe v. Teletech Customer Care Management, the Washington Court of Appeals analyzed the plain language of the Washington State Medical Use of Marijuana Act (MUMA) and the history of the initiative. The court found that MUMA neither explicitly nor implicitly creates a legal remedy for employees fired for using medical marijuana. Rather, the purpose of the Act—like that of Colorado’s Amendment 20—was to create an exception of the state’s criminal law for the possession of marijuana by card-carrying medical marijuana patients and for physicians who recommend medical marijuana. For similar
