LA Evaluates Marijuana Employment Protections NECANN

Task Force in Louisiana Evaluates Employment Protections For Medical Marijuana Patients

A legislative task team in Louisiana met multiple times to discuss and make suggestions on how to handle employment concerns related to medical marijuana.

 

The Employment and Medical Marijuana Task Force split into three groups to discuss various aspects of medical marijuana in the workplace, including legal protections in other states, available testing methods, and special concerns for “safety sensitive” occupations like firefighting and emergency medical services.

 

A recent article in Sellers Farms stated the task force members explained the anti-discrimination laws and employer-safety measures that have been passed in places including New Jersey, Indiana, Connecticut, Alabama, and others in recent years to safeguard workers who use medical marijuana.

 

Despite the fact that Alabama recognizes medical marijuana as medicine, state law does not prohibit employers from conducting drug tests, as pointed out by Marijuana Policy Project representative Kevin Caldwell on the task force, and in Arkansas, protections “do not require employers to accommodate ingestion in a workplace or an employee working under the influence.”

 

There was also talk about how proposals would make it even harder to hire people, especially in public safety occupations like firefighting and emergency medical services, due to widespread staff shortages across numerous industries.

 

Rep. Mandie Landry (D-New Orleans) has introduced a resolution that has sparked a series of sessions like the one scheduled, all leading up to the 2023 legislative session. The resolution mandates that the task team provide legislative bodies with recommendations by February 1.

On April 10, the next meeting will begin.

 

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