While a prescription is not necessary in Colorado, pot is legal elsewhere (e.g. California).
(A) Since the pot is still illegal under federal law, why doesn’t the DEA arrest these people. Or at least arrest some of them so as to test how a jury would handle the situation (think: jury nullification). As employees of the Executive branch of government, by doing nothing, the DEA is neglecting their Constitutional duty of enforcing the law. I doubt the IRS ever neglects their duty.
(B) I’ve had drug tests as a condition of employment. If pot is legal, could a Colorado employer still fire anyone who tests positive for pot.
As to (A). I think they are taking a wait and see approach. And are letting states decide for themselves. Which IMHO, is how it should be.
(B). Yep, I’m sure that you can be fired for it still. It really doesn’t have anything to do with legality. It’s silly though. You can come to work with a huge hangover, but if you had a toke or two on the weekend, that’s it for you.
With part (A), when the medical marijuana laws first started to get passed, this was a huge grey area. The feds generally didn’t bother the MM dispensaries, but they had to keep a pretty low profile. Shortly after Obama took office, the feds adopted an informal policy saying that they would leave medical marijuana dispensaries alone so long as they’re in full compliance with the state laws, although they still have been prosecuting dispensaries that break the rules. That’s when you started getting a dispensary on every corner in some states. It appears that that informal agreement will be extended to the legal recreational dispensaries.*
With the drug tests, that’s also a big grey area. The courts have generally upheld the rights of employers to fire medical marijuana patients for failing drug tests. The legalization amendment passed in Colorado contains some possibly contradictory language making it so employers can’t fire people for “engaging in lawful activity” but also upholding the rights of employers to maintain a “drug free workplace.” That might be something that needs to get sorted out in the courts before there’s a clear answer.
*One other small jurisdictional issue here is federal land. National parks, national forest and other miscellaneous federally-owned lands are under federal jurisdiction and you can still get a fairly hefty ticket for possession even if you’re in compliance with the state laws. Washington and Colorado both have huge amounts of federal land (including the land on which some major ski resorts sit), so that may become a big issue.
The DEA has the right to determine how to prioritize their allocation of resources. At the moment, they’ve decided those priorities do not include pursuing cases against entities operating in compliance with state law in Colorado. That situation could change at any time.
Interesting. But I have to say, a LOT of people smoke on the chair lifts. And have been for decades. I don’t see any change there. But, folks are going to try to push things by smoking in lift lines, decks and such out of ignorance (or flaunting) of the law.
I assum any employer has the right to let you go at any time. the only exception I can think of is violating the rights of a sick person under ADA, if you use medical marijuana? But as GreasyJack has pointed out, the courts don’t seem to be protecting this right.
Somewhat related anecdote: I’ve gotten conflicting information about taking pot through TSA checkpoints. A Buzzfeed article about the law going into effect in Colorado basically said “Don’t even think about it.” But I’ve heard from more than one stoner that, if you’re going from one pot-legal (medical or otherwise) city to another (say, San Francisco to Denver) the TSA is going to look the other way.
From what I’ve read from more legitimate sounding sources, when the TSA finds contraband, they refer the case to local law enforcement. So if you’re in a place where it isn’t illegal, you at least won’t get prosecuted for it. Whether they’ll let you keep it and take it on the plane is a different matter. The various bits of anec-data I’ve heard and read suggest it’s a bit of a crapshoot. Maybe the new legalization laws will spur them coming up with a more consistent policy.