Gass is now the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit by the ACLU of Pennsylvania challenging the court rule in Lebanon County that prohibits parolees and probationers who have a prescription for medical marijuana from using it. (The organization says that at least a half dozen other counties statewide have a similar policy.) Her lawyers are filing a brief with the state supreme court this month, and the case is expected to be argued in the summer.
The Lebanon County Courts policy signed by President Judge John Tylwalk last month prohibits the use of the substance for people under county supervision even if they have medical marijuana cards and have complied with state law.
County sued for denying medical cannabis to probationers
The suit claims that state law protects people who use medical marijuana from penalty, and that denying the roughly 60 probationers with medical marijuana cards the right to use it creates life-threatening health risks.
The ACLU had been negotiating with lawyers from the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, and Walczak said they had been told they wouldn't immediately detain any probationers with medical marijuana cards who tested positive for THC.
"Those arguments that they have to follow federal law, that's just wrong, they're wrong about that," Walczak said, referencing two separate decisions in federal courts in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh where judges ruled federal probationers can't be violated for following the state medical marijuana act.
The Medical Marijuana Act includes no guidance for county judges on how they should deal with people on probation, which means every county can set its own policy or practice. Other Central Pa. counties largely allow for the use of medical marijuana by those under supervision, with some handling the matter on a case-by-case basis.
The ACLU class action suit is filed on behalf of three people on probation in Lebanon County: Melissa Gass, Ashley Bennett and Andrew Koch, as well as all other probationers in the county with medical marijuana cards.
Because the legislation doesn't specify how it applies to people under court supervision, it implicitly allows for probationers to use the substance, the ACLU is arguing. Additionally, violating people's probation because they use medical marijuana constitutes a penalty, which the Medical Marijuana Act prohibits, the suit says.
On June 17, 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court settled the issue, ruling unanimously that those supervised by county probation and parole departments can use medical marijuana as long as they have procured a medical marijuana card. Anytime you see a unanimous decision before either a state supreme court or the Supreme Court of the United States, the holding is generally a no-brainer.
The Law Office of David Sloane is well known for being on the front line fighting for marijuana legalization in Texas. Until the plant is legal, our office holds the responsibility of vigorously defending those accused of marijuana crimes. Especially medical cannabis patients.
In Casias vs. Wal-Mart, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District ruled against a registered medical marijuana patient who sued Wal-Mart for terminating his employment for testing positive for marijuana.
No reported decisions since explicit employment protections were enacted in 2019. However, a nurse sued after his employer, Valleywise Medical Center, said he would not be allowed to use medical cannabis. In March 2020, the hospital modified its drug policy, allowing state-legal medical cannabis use.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which sued Lebanon County's court system on behalf of three medical marijuana patients, said the court's decision applies to every county in the state.
Another plaintiff, Ashley Bennett, said she was sick, couldn't get out of bed and lost 30 pounds after the probation office banned medical marijuana. She said prescription cannabis "allows me to lead the kind of life I want."
Thursday's ruling had immediate impact. In Jefferson County, another county where people under court supervision have been banned from using medical marijuana, Judge John Foradora reviewed the justices' opinion and "will be doing an order to comply with their findings," Court Administrator Chad Weaver said via email.
With legal recreational-use cannabis sales scheduled to start this Friday, questions still remain as to whether the state will see a shortage of medical cannabis, and whether those possible shortages will emerge within days, weeks or months after sales begin. While state regulators have somewhat downplayed the possibility of cannabis shortages while also implementing emergency rules to temporarily increase production, many in the medical cannabis industry say they are sure there will be shortages. But opinions vary when it comes to how severe those shortages will be. Duke Rodriguez, the president and CEO of Ultra Health, one of the most prolific and arguably the most publicly visible cannabis producers in the state, has long warned that production limits would lead to a cannabis shortage when adult-use sales start on Friday.
An employer may be required to engage in an interactive dialogue with a worker to see if a reasonable accommodation can be made. "It depends on a number of factors," Vorobiev said. Imagine the employee or job applicant is a registered medical marijuana patient in a state that allows cannabis use to treat a disability. The employer may need to explore possible accommodations. 2ff7e9595c
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