WalMart fires associate of year, cancer patient for medical marijuana

Despite medical marijuana being legal in Michigan, WalMart has fired a cancer patient and former employee of the year who tested positive for the drug, which was recommended by his doctor.
"I was terminated because I failed a drug screening," ex-WalMart employee Joseph Casias told WZZM-13.
In 2008, Casias was Associate of the Year at the WalMart store in Battle Creek, Mich., despite suffering from sinus cancer and an inoperable brain tumor.
At his doctor's recommendation, Casias legally uses medical marijuana to ease his pain.
"It helps tremendously," Casias said. "I only use it to stop the pain. To make me feel more comfortable and active as a person."
Casias said he went to work every day during his five years at WalMart. "I gave them everything," he said. "One hundred and ten percent every day. Anything they asked me to do, I did. More than they asked me to do. Twelve to 14 hours a day."
Then Casias sprained his knee at work last November. During the routine drug screening that follows all workplace injuries, marijuana was detected in his system.
Casias showed WalMart managers his Michigan medical marijuana card, but was fired anyway.

[Thanks Lift!]

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Posted By jamesk at 2010-03-14 14:48:56 permalink | comments

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Brian. : 2010-03-25 01:09:54

Though it is a legal gray area, the court decisions over that past few years set a precedent of virtually no employment protection for medical marijuana patients. Wal Mart is awful for doing it, but completely legal according to the letter of the law. This presentation gives a great overview and looks case by case at recent medical marijuana lawsuits:
[link]

target boy. : 2010-03-23 00:46:51

WALLMART IS NOW CALLED CHINA MART INC. Alcohol is a wonderful drug that wallmart romances!Smoke youre tobacco old boy!Drink that jack>A MANDATORY DRUG TEST for booze>lucky strikes>marlboro>aspirin!!!! NOW!!!

Jeffar. : 2010-03-17 20:17:33

Brandon go read a book you dumbass.

Red. : 2010-03-17 09:40:17

I would say he should have only been fired if he came to work under the influence of marijuana. That seems to not be the case (though the article doesn't say)- it's fat soluble, so if he had smoked before going to bed, he would fail the test. Same as taking a prescription opiate, but not at work. I think if he was a good employee taking the drug for medical reasons and it wasn't affecting his work performance, he was justified in using it.
And halogenated, my dad works 10-12 hour days for Wal-Mart; he could have been on a four-day schedule, or a manager. Wal-Mart does hate the overtime thing, but for some folks, it seems to be okay with the company.
And let me just say, most prescription painkillers will do a number on your liver and make you a zombie (plus they're usually incredibly addictive). If your alternative is "a plant, and if you just happen to set it on fire...there are some effects" (to quote Kat Williams), I would dare to point out that the plant (in its plant form, not just compounds derived from it put into a highly concentrated pill form) seems to be a better alternative. But what do I know? I'm just a lowly bio grad student.

Anonymous. : 2010-03-15 15:37:29

"hey brandon, are you retarded? religious?"

Capitan slay, I think your irony coil is burned out and your sarcasm crystals are seriously malfunctioning. Call engineering, pronto!

slay. : 2010-03-15 12:31:18

hey brandon, are you retarded? religious? legal drugs are very much drugs. even moreso than dried plant materials such as marijuana. joe smith wants some heroin. he has the option of acquiring it from one of two drug dealers; a physician, or an addict that sells black tar and dirty needles. who has the customer's best interest in mind? i implore you, it may be the physician, but not by very much.

martini. : 2010-03-14 23:56:47

omg, what else do u expect from wal mart? they are nothing but a monopoly that doesnt care who they step on on the way, they have the idea that they can treat people however they want cuz in the end they can pay off whoever has a problem with it...

Lift : 2010-03-14 22:31:09

One things for sure, he won't be the last Wal-Mart employee fired for failing a piss test while having a Medical Marijuana license. Like Gary Johnson said on Bill Mahr last week, how can we lock up 44% of the population for doing what 56% disapprove of? Tipping point, we are fast approaching it.

halogenated. : 2010-03-14 18:32:57

twelve to fourteen hours a day? at walmart? something doesn't sound right here. walmart has incredibly strict policies against overtime. can anyone clear anything up here? i want to believe this guy's story because i both hate walmart and support medical marijuana, but something just doesn't add up.

buddha-nature. : 2010-03-14 18:16:36

...this saddens my heart :(

Jaimie. : 2010-03-14 16:46:21

Doesn't surprise me. It's Walmart. They do things 10x worse than that for kicks. Or so I hear.

Brandon. : 2010-03-14 16:15:02

Nebula, legal drugs aren't drugs.

Drugs are bad, mmmmkay?

Nebula : 2010-03-14 15:24:37

Should a person be fired for prescription opiates as well?

Same logic...

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