Pubdate: Tue, 01 Mar 2011 Source: Scribe, The (US CO Edu) Copyright: 2011 The Scribe Contact: http://www.uccsscribe.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5359 Author: Cherise Fantus PATIENTS SHOULDN'T BE PUNISHED FOR TAKING THEIR MEDICATION Medical marijuana is a touchy subject across the state of Colorado. Since it is a relatively new advent, especially in Colorado Springs, it comes with a lot of strings attached. People carrying legal medical marijuana licenses can still be fired, removed from school or banned from housing foster children for using the prescription drug. It's easy for many people to say that marijuana users are drug users and should face these consequences. Marijuana has been illegal for so long that it's a natural and easy conclusion. The fact is, though, that it is legal, and should be treated like any other legal prescription drug. In early February, a 16-year-old Colorado Springs boy was told he couldn't return to school because he was under the influence of medical marijuana. The boy, who suffers from hiccup-like seizures, was prescribed medical marijuana lozenges to help alleviate the symptoms. The school would not allow him to use his prescription medication on school grounds, so when he had an attack, he had to go home for his medication. "We got a phone call that he was not allowed to return back to school because he was under the influence of medical marijuana," Shan Moore, the boy's dad, told ABC 7 News, Denver. Before being prescribed medical marijuana, doctors prescribed Moore's son Xanax, Valium and morphine, none of which worked nearly as well as the marijuana lozenges. Though two of those drugs are psychoactive drugs (which act on the central nervous system and can affect behavior and cognition) and the other is a narcotic, the school nurse still administered them, and he was allowed to use them on school grounds. The boy was not abusing the drug. He was not even smoking it; he had it in lozenge form. He was using a legal prescription drug for a valid medical purpose, yet the school still wouldn't allow it. In these situations, a school nurse could easily administer the drug in a controlled environment. In 2009, a Michigan man tested positive for marijuana on a drug screening mandated by Walmart, his employer. Since Walmart has a zero-tolerance policy for drug use, the man was fired. The man, whose name is Joseph Casias, had a valid medical marijuana license. He was prescribed the drug after traditional painkillers failed to kill the pain from an inoperable brain tumor. As Wal-Mart spokesman Greg Rossiter told MSNBC, "We have to consider the overall safety of our customers and associates, including Mr. Casias, when making a difficult decision like this." Safety in this situation was not a question. Casias said he never used the drug while on the job, nor did he come to work high. He was totally within his legal rights and was responsible with his use. If he had been using the more traditional pain medications, this never would have been an issue. The pain medications usually prescribed to cancer patients are hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (Percocet), morphine, methadone and Fentanyl, according to WebMD - all of which are narcotics. Generally, narcotics have much more serious effects on a person's ability to function than marijuana has. It also has more severe legal consequences for users and dealers. But many employers would still rather have you using morphine than marijuana when a prescription is concerned. Some concerns regarding the use of medical marijuana at work or school are valid. Obviously, we don't want our kids sharing their prescription drugs with their friends. That is why they should be held and administered by a school nurse, just as prescription narcotics are now. Employees working with heavy equipment, or who are responsible for the safety and care of others, cannot be impaired at work. It is reasonable to fire someone if they are under the influence of any impairment-inducing drug, whether prescribed or not, on the job. It is not reasonable, however, to fire someone for using a legal prescription drug outside of the workplace. It is time that the stigma is removed from medical marijuana. Doctors choose to prescribe that particular drug for a reason, and the patients should not be punished for trying to feel well.