There are lots of complexities and questions that medical marijuana has created in the work place. A lot of grey areas or fine lines if you want to call it are the major concerns when it comes to the Montana work place. Missoula Chamber of Commerce hosted a breakfast to discuss the issues surrounding the herb as a medicinal purpose and the workplace.
Questions such as should the companies test their employees? Can and will a company allow a person to use the medicine on the job? Will someone impaired have medical marijuana in the bloodstream and will this create a dangerous environment?
Jack Chambers who serves on the chamber’s government committee said, “This isn’t a debate” as he introduced the panel to everyone. People such as Rick Rosio, president of Montana Pain Management, asked questions to the panel on the efficacy of hard narcotics versus marijuana. Montana Pain Management is a medical marijuana provider. Rosio went on to say this should be about a less toxic subsance.
The grey areas even go beyond state level and into federal areas. Obama and his administration say they won’t interfere with states that pass medical marijuana, but that doesn’t necessary mean that its legal. This creates another big grey area that a state legalizing medical marijuana has to deal with.
State Representative Diane Sands, who serves on the committee, went on to say, “We’re trying to clarify the gray areas and create a bright line between legal and illegal marijuana use.” The proposed changes that Montana has in mind comes from the proposed changes that are based on Colorado’s medical marijuana laws.
Sands went on to suggest that people who want to pursue using marijuana medically see two doctors rather than one before getting their identification card to use the drug. Her intent for this suggestion is to cut down the people who would fraudulently get cards to use the drug for recreational use and not medically.
I’m just glad to see the committees and representatives rationally discussing the issue and how they will implement it into their state rather than argue and debate it to death. There are tons of sick people who need this drug to not only help them through day to day operations, but through life due to their specific illness.
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Tags: Medical Marijuana, Missoula Chamber, panel examines, workplace
