Colorado marijuana task force says employers can fire for pot use

Bosses would continue to be allowed to fire workers for off-the-job marijuana use under a policy endorsed Tuesday by a state task force helping create rules for marijuana legalization.

A divided Amendment 64 Implementation Task Force backed the recommendation, which would essentially preserve the status quo in employer-employee relationships when it comes to marijuana.

Dissenting members of the task force argued that Amendment 64, which legalized use and limited possession of marijuana for adults, changed the status quo to give off-the-job pot use the same kind of protection as alcohol use.

But Christian Sederberg, one of the authors of the amendment, said the law’s drafters meant to take a more incremental approach to liberalizing marijuana laws.

“We intended to leave employers to have their own policies on these issues,” Sederberg said.
The proposal, one of several adopted Tuesday, is the most significant recommendation the task force has endorsed to date. The task force will meet again Feb. 19.

Kayvan Khalatbari owns Denver Relief, a marijuana growing, dispensary, and consulting business. Khalatbari and his employees are meticulous in their marijuana cultivation from start to finish and says the process takes constant care and vigilance by anyone considering growing the plant.

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