425 Business Quotes James Shore on How Conflict Between State and Federal Law on Pot Legality Affects Employers

Partner James Shore was quoted in 425 Business, a business-lifestyle magazine, in an article titled “Weed’s Legal, But It’ll Still Get You Fired.” The article discusses why people in states that have legalized the purchase and use of marijuana should be aware that doing so may jeopardize their employment as marijuana is still illegal under federal law.

Two cases illustrate the dilemma: the Colorado Supreme Court is deliberating on whether Dish Network, which has a no-tolerance drug policy, has the right to fire a man for using medical marijuana. And James Shore represented Teletech in a similar Washington state in which the state Supreme Court ruled that employers have a right to terminate employees, even those with a medical license, for marijuana use because it is illegal on a federal level.

“I-502 (the initiative that legalized the purchase and use of marijuana in Washington) … may signal a societal trend that may one day change things at the federal level,” said Shore. “But nothing is going to change as long as marijuana remains illegal under federal law.”

Read “Weed’s Legal, But It’ll Still Get You Fired,” published on October 2, 2014.