Flagstaff City Council members sent staff back to the drawing board to come up with less restrictive zoning for medical marijuana businesses noting that strip clubs faced less restrictive zoning in the initial plan.
Medical Marijuana Clinics and Dispensaries Arizona
The federal marijuana enforcement policy declares federal authorities will no longer be raiding state licensed medical marijuana dispensaries and clinics that are in compliance with their own state laws and regulations concerning the medical use and safe access to marijuana. Under current federal law however, the use, sale or possession of marijuana, whether medically prescribed or not, is still unlawful and carries significant criminal penalties.
Zero tolerance of drug use is the workplace norm in Arizona, but the medical-marijuana law that takes effect next year will cloud what had been a clear-cut issue for workers and employers.
If a supervisor suspects that using marijuana for medical reasons affects the quality of an employee's work, how should the supervisor respond?
If employees who were prescribed medical marijuana are injured in an accident on the job, are they eligible for workers' compensation?
What happens if a legal user of marijuana fails a company's drug test when applying for a job?
The new law bars employers from discriminating against medical-marijuana users; but, employment attorneys say, it does allow employers to terminate or take action against employees who use medical marijuana on the job or whose work is impaired by the drug.
The issue is likely to be tested in Arizona's workplaces. The law specifies that medical marijuana is for grave illnesses - such as cancer, HIV and glaucoma - but it's increasingly common for employees with serious illnesses to continue to work long after their diagnosis.
Because there is no standard for being under the influence of marijuana, defining what it means to be impaired by the drug on the job is more difficult. In general, employment law allows termination for poor work performance.
Issues not directly related to job performance also are expected to crop up for employers. Because a medical-marijuana user could fail a drug test even if he or she is not under the influence, patients who use the drug legally could still run afoul of their employers' drug-testing policies.
The result is widespread uncertainty among employers. In the months before the program launches, companies and their attorneys will be scrambling to review their drug-testing policies and scrutinize employee rules to comply with the new law.
Many states with existing medical-marijuana laws are still struggling with many of the same issues. Many may have to be resolved in court.
However, because states have separate statutes and judicial systems, decisions in one state may not carry weight in another.
Workplace issues have arisen frequently, said Mike Meno, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project. His organization backed the successful November ballot initiative that made medical-marijuana use legal in Arizona.
Although there are 15 states that allow patients to use marijuana for medical purposes, Arizona is one of a handful of states that spell out protections for employees who use medical marijuana.
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