South Union supervisors update policy for employees with medical marijuana cards
In an effort to clarify the rules for South Union Township employees who have medical marijuana cards, supervisors adopted an updated drug policy at their most recent meeting.
Solicitor James T. Davis said the new policy prohibits any township employee with a commercial driver’s license from also having a medical marijuana card. Township employees who do not have CDLs are permitted to obtain a medical marijuana card so long as they notify the township.
The changes align with state guidelines set forth in the 2016 Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (MMA).
“We’re just merely incorporating the law into our own policy,” Davis said.
Another change prohibits employees permitted to have a medical cannabis card from performing any potentially life-threatening tasks while at work.
The township’s prior policy had been in place since 2015, before medical marijuana dispensaries were permitted in Pennsylvania. That policy took a zero-tolerance stance on drug use for all township employees.
The MMA prohibits anyone with a CDL from also having a medical marijuana card, Davis said. Other than those with CDLs, according to the MMA it is against state law for employers to “discharge, threaten, refuse to hire or otherwise discriminate or retaliate against an employee… on the basis of (the) employee’s status as an individual who is certified to use medical marijuana.”
While there is some room for discretion, Davis said, that passage applies to both government and private employers.
Although the supervisors voted unanimously to update the township drug policy, Davis said it may need to be updated again as the laws on marijuana continue to change.
With recreational marijuana legal in five of Pennsylvania’s six neighboring states, Davis said there is a need for more “sophisticated testing” for the drug.
“We know how to test for alcohol and other drugs, but because marijuana has a tendency to stay in the system longer, there should be a better way to test for it,” he said.
Township Manager Maxine Maximo-Legros said the policy went into effect last Thursday.