ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Firefighters prescribed medical marijuana by a doctor could soon be protected from workplace punishment.
Firefighter unions have been pushing for the legislation to pass for several years. Firefighters deal with post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer at higher rates than the average person. At times, doctors prescribed marijuana as a medication, but firefighters turned it down to protect their jobs.
Firefighters are a step away from being able to use medical marijuana
Legislation sponsored by Senator Carl Jackson would ensure that if firefighters have a medical card and test positive for the drug, they cannot be punished.
“I think it’s a great bill. I think it’s gonna help hundreds of our fire and rescue members. I’ve heard a lot of members say this is going to save lives, and I honestly believe that,” Jackson said.
“It prevents employment discrimination. If a fire person was tested and cannabis came up in the test with the medical card, their job would be protected,” Jackson said.
Joshua Fannon, president of Baltimore Fire Officers Local 964, said the prohibition impacted many in the department.
“A lot of firefighters who are impacted by pretty common things, pretty common ailments that can come along with the job of being in the fire department. Those include orthopedic injuries, PTSD, cancer treatments, things of that nature which go hand in hand with cannabis as a prescribed treatment, but they were absolutely prohibited from using that,” Fannon said.
The legislation is not a clearance for firefighters to use marijuana on the job. Strict penalties still exist for coming to work high, regardless of a prescription.
“If they were to show up to work, then they were intoxicated by any substance. It doesn’t have to be cannabis, but anything because you have to be 100% when you show up to work with us and if somebody is not, they need to be taken off the line. So that’s why we have the procedures for reasonable suspicion or any other kind of behavior that people are exhibiting,” Fannon said.
The bill is currently on Gov. Wes Moore’s desk as his team reviews hundreds of bills.
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