Medical Marijuana Legalization Brings Welcome Change but also Many New Challenges

Voters in Massachusetts took a progressive step in November to remedy inadequate drug laws by legalizing medical marijuana in the Commonwealth.  However, despite the benefits this new law will bring to Massachusetts, this vote was just a step.  As long as federal laws conflict with state laws, challenges will arise.  Drug laws are an increasingly complicated due to more liberal state laws conflicting with strict federal drug laws. 

One challenge that has emerged in relation to the legalization of medical marijuana in Massachusetts is the conflict of this new law with requirements of various professional licenses.  For example, a doctor who uses medical marijuana will be at a significant risk of violating his or her medical license.  Other professions that face similar requirements are nurses, dentists, and mental health workers.  Until the Mass Department of Public Health writes regulations governing medical marijuana, the panels for many of these professional boards are at a loss for whether to adopt new regulations governing the use of medical marijuana for these professionals. 

In addition to these professionals, transportation workers in Massachusetts are facing similar confusion.  MBTA employees, for instance, are required to report any prescription or over-the-counter drug use to their employers.  A staff doctor then decides if the workers are fit to perform their duties while on their medication.

Health care workers may fare better than some professionals under the conflicting laws.  Some nursing and other health care unions do not think that their members will violate their licenses by using medical marijuana, as long as the employees are not working while still under the effects of marijuana.  No one can really be sure about this issue, though, until the boards promulgate their regulations. 

Another issue that may arise because of the conflicting laws has to do with money.  Under the Drug-Free Workplace Act, a company that accepts federal money or federal contracts must ban use of illegal drugs, including marijuana, by its employees.  Other federal grant programs, including some federal transportation funding, includes the same prohibition.  Therefore, any company that allows its employees to use medical marijuana cannot also accept federal funding.  Fortunately, these prohibitions have reportedly not been enforced aggressively thus far. 

Police officers are another sector of employees whose jobs will be on the line if they abide by Massachusetts drug laws, in conflict with federal laws.  For police, federal law will likely govern; thus, they will not be able to partake in medical marijuana.  In fact, any employee who carries a gun on the job will likely face the same prospect.  Firefighters may be in the same position, as well. 

In addition to people who carry a gun on the job, citizens who want to purchase firearms may be unable to obtain a license to own a gun if they are medical marijuana patients.  A person in possession of a gun may not also possess marijuana under federal law.  Some legal precedent has been set regarding this issue.  The Supreme Court of Oregon ruled that weapons permits may not be denied to applicants merely because the applicant uses medical marijuana.  However, this does not affect the issue of possessing both at the same time under federal law. 

And Massachusetts has significant issues to work out with it's own regulations and legal access to medical marijuana. Dispensary licensing is controversial statewide, and here in Braintree, zoning regulations will have to be adjusted for such establishments to be allowed. And legal marijuana for medical use may put pressure on other areas of the law, like OUI-Drugs, and of course new strict standards for legal sale of a previously controlled substance.

Much work still needs to be done both at the state and federal levels to reach a consensus on marijuana laws in our country.  The conflict of federal and state laws creates a great amount of confusion for both lawmakers and citizens.

However, the trend toward relaxation of marijuana laws nationwide and here in Massachusetts is clear, so we will all have to adjust. The Commonwealth is one of many states that by 2016, could join Colorado and Washington in legalizing recreational marijuana use. So the pace of change may only accelerate.