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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Woman Can’t Use Medical Pot Law to Bolster Case

(CN) - A woman who failed a pre-employment drug test can't use Washington's Medical Use of Marijuana Act as a defense in her case against the company that refused to hire her, a Washington appeals court ruled.

Jane Roe, who did not give her real name because the medical use of marijuana is illegal under federal law, sued TeleTech Customer Care Management for rescinding its employment offer after Roe failed a pre-employment drug test.

She claimed that TeleTech violated a public policy expressed by the state through the Medical Use of Marijuana Act (MUMA).

The trial court sided with TeleTech, and the Washington Court of Appeals, Division II affirmed.

"Because MUMA provides only a defense to criminal prosecution for the medical use of marijuana in compliance with its provisions, the trial court did not err when it granted TeleTech's summary judgment motion," Judge Christine Quinn-Brintnall wrote.

"MUMA neither grants employment rights for qualifying users nor creates civil remedies for alleged violations of the Act," the judge added.

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