Calls for National Boycott of Wal-Mart after Man with Cancer Fired for using Medical Marijuana

"will eliminate drug-related crime?" it's only a crime BECAUSE of the law, and the law is wrong.

if drugs were legal then they'd all be legal buisnessmen now wouldn't they?

"It will NOT eliminate the illegal drug trade, it will only increase the number of addicts" really you think so huh? I have one simple question for you then. would YOU yourself become an addict? if you say 'no' then you prove yourself wrong and the rest of us right on this. if you admit that yes, you'd become an addict, then you're just a hypocrite for comdemning others.

now crime will always be around no matter what you do, unless you kill everyone, then there will be no one to commit crime... but until judgment day comes we can do things to lessen crime and the toll it takes on the innocent.

i wouldn't say something like this wouldn't happen to a cannabis farm, because something like this can happen anywhere at anytime. think about this, if cannabis was cheap(like what California proposes $50oz) and if it could be grown by a person who uses, do you really think people are going to go through all that trouble to steal it?... it would be so readily available i bet you would be able to just walk up and ask someone for a clone and they would give you one for free to grow your own.

and as far as more cannabis users being a result of legalization..... you nor anyone can predict anything with regards to that because you dont know everyone and how they feel about cannabis. a lot of people are for the legalization of cannabis but would never put their lips on it.

and if more people were to use it, it would probably be because they are tired of taking prescription meds that have scary side effects, dont like drinking alcohol or hates smoking cigs. all of these which could be helped to quit with the use of cannabis.

kudos! I never bother with the cannabis is a viable alternative arguement. but it's true, I myself prefer it over alcohol. not to mention the FACT that alchohol prohibition failed miserably, what makes anyone think that MJ prohibition will work?

forget what makes people think it will work.. how bout since its been illegal, prohibition has been a horrific failure and parasite on both us and mexico, as well as those effected indirectly....

hundreds of thousands die each year on both sides of the border, thousands of patients arrested and incarcerated for mere possession, billions of taxpaying dollars(that we dont even have anymore) wasted on a vicious circle.. the list just goes on...

I'm with you on that buddy. the problem is that big-pharma, prison unions, and even logging companies spend so much money to keep it illegal that people like us have no chance or even a say, unless we're going to finance a campaign for it... I doubt many normal people (who actually are affected by these corrupt laws) can even afford the lawyers for this crap. the system is a racket.

i agree... the only way we can truly get our voices heard is in elections, like the up coming November California legalization taxation and regulation act, and by organizing....

our fight for legalization is unique in that we have to fight both the people and the govt. on this....

the only thing the govt. cares about on this subject is money; while people care about health, crime and education.

we have to convince the govt. that there is way more money to be made in legalization of cannabis than prohibition, and thats hard to do when companies that would be effected by legalization basically own members of our govt.

and then people have been scared into thinking that users foam at the mouth and become crazed psychotic cereal killers, who will do anything to get their fix... we have to educate the public about the truths behind the lies and myths... murder would be a buzz kill for a cannabis user... shit breaking law period would be a buzz kill, except the law that prohibits the use.

these things mentioned, along with other ways of helping to pass legalization, all have to happen on a national scale... and untill that happens i dont think things are going to change.

good thing there are way more people who agree about decriminalization than dissagree... we're NOT a marginal minority but rather a majority. although the opposition will have us believe they are the majority. and they think we're a problem because we stand up, but the problem isn't that we do stand up, but rather that other who agree don't stand up. this is where we have our power, we just need to convince everyone who agrees with us to stand up and say so. it's like the very vocal minority of super rightwing christians trying to run things as if they're a majority but in reality, they're just a very vocal minority.

Yes, they should.

Anyone who will participate in the illegal drug trade is also likely to steal for their habit.

Not that thisguy was stealing, but if I had an employee I knew was using vicodin illegally, I would never be able to trust that person with my merchandise.

FIRED

you don't seem to understand the difference between medical use and habitual use. also plenty of people junkies and legit buisnessmen use medial drugs 'properly' and if you think that drug use alone disqualifies a person from trust, then you're a hypocrite because I garuntee you yourself have had some controlled substance perscribed to you.

curtisreed...you are one dumb fuck

They didnt fire him for that reason. They fired him because he was using pot. Thats against the rules. Just cause pot is legal in some states for use as medical pot, dont make it legal in the work place. Im on WalMarts side on this.

The article specifically says that he was not accused of using marijuana on the premises. It is absurd to think that we live in a society that judges people based on the chemicals present in their system's as opposed to their performance. This is clearly an example of Wal-Mart attempting to minimize a worker's comp claim at the expense of a loyal, hard working "associate". I am not a Marijuana user but i would be completely naive to suggest that Marijuana has even a fraction of the social cost of prescription medications. Wal-Mart is clearly in the wrong and in violation of a state statue. The state should demand reparations or deny Wal-Mart the privilege of doing business in their state!!

I didnt say he did it on the property either. He failed the drug test. He had pot in his system. Walmart does drug testing on employees. Its automatic firing if you have it in your system. You dont have to be caught smoking it on the job to be fired for it. You just have to have it in your system. Read my post again and get the facts straight before you post your bullshit. Alot of places do drug tests and it is very legal. Im with Walmart on this one cause they fired the druggie. I dont care what his reason was for smoking it. ITS ILLEGAL HELLO? Time for YOU to use your friggen brain on this one. DUDE. I dont want no damned stoner waiting on me anywhere I spend MY money, lugnut.

Amen, sister. Let's suppose the guy is one of those conspicuously slow cashiers...could he be slow because he's stoned?

Or he's handling money...anyone who's ever been high knows they get distracted, forget stuff, make stupid mistakes.

But see, tweety, you're preeching to a group of people who are for the most part druggies, do you expect them to "use their brains"? Seriously, those brains are already fried.

Here's a notion: we'll legalize drug use. But you have to pass a drug test to get to vote. Have drugs in your system? No VOTE for YOU!

Let's expand that to driver's licenses too. Yeah, you can smoke legally, but you have to sign up for it with the police. And then you will get an automatic drug test every time you get stopped. any drugs in your system, AUTOMATIC loss of license.

That sounds reasonable, doesn't it?

pass a drug test to vote eh? and just which drugs do you think will be allowed? alcohol? codine from my cough syrup? asprin? caffeen? you can't just blanket over somethign like this.

ok well first tweety... cannabis lingers in your system sometimes for weeks after use, although the effects of the plant have already worn hrs after use.

so a person could have just recently quit smoking cannabis... lets say its been 3 weeks and they are looking for jobs... if a test comes up the person feels like they could pass it because its been 3 weeks since their last use and they quit smoking, test results show a different story. long story short this guy who could have been another hard working citizen lost their chances at a job because of testing for something that lingers in your system for long periods of time.

and it being illegal doesn't make it wrong to do... it shouldn't be illegal for so many reasons it would take hours to even tell you let alone type. and in actuality more and more people use cannabis than you think, your relatives and friends could be using at this very moment... scientists, lawyers, professors, architects, actors, artists, etc. all have those who are using right now; yet they are some of the best at what they do.

some of our fore fathers used cannabis; religious leaders and figureheads, cultural and country leaders all have had and have now, those who use. who the hell are you to say they cant smoke a blunt to wind down after a hard days work.

@curtisreed

you make no sense... maybe that slow cashier is slow because they are tired of working a dead end job their whole life and wants something better out of life...

oh and like you never forgot something, made a stupid mistake, or got distracted by something.... all of these things are things humans do anyways.. so why bring that up... cannabis doesn't distract, actually some would say that its help them focus more(ADHD patients). people dont forget things because they smoked cannabis, they forget because there is way too many things going on in life and things get forgotten all the time even by those who dont smoke.

as far as making people do anything, let alone stupid mistakes, is complete bull.... let me explain..... you cant blame anyone's actions on anything other than that person. the person already had intentions on doing something or nothing, they just use substance abuse as an excuse in hopes for a lesser charge or sentence... alcohol and cannabis are two main things that get blamed for criminal activity and stupidity.... what happened to a person being held accountable for their own actions?

"Here's a notion: we'll legalize drug use. But you have to pass a drug test to get to vote. Have drugs in your system? No VOTE for YOU!"
I can only hope you are being sarcastic, because if you are not then that is the most outrageous thing i've read, and besides, informed people( including drug users) know that voting DOES NOT really matter anyway.

sad but true.

see, now here's the illogical type of statement that I love.

If you boycott Wal Mart because of their business practices that allegedly include the production of goods in sweatshops or child labor etc, because "that's immoral" to do that to other countries...

Ask yourself:

And what the F do you think the illegal drug trade does to Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, etc?

HIPO-CRITE

"And what the F do you think the illegal drug trade does to Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, etc"... I'd say it bring in massive amounts of revenue for the CIA and other AMERICAN agencies... but then I know a little more about who's shipping all these drugs to the US. and do you think that the estimated 50million tons+ of cocaine shipped into the US illegally is happening on the backs of illegals or something? you're joking right?

OK then morally, boycott Wallmart for a whole host of moral reasons including taking life insurance out on people like this guy that is called, Dead Peasant Insurance.

Actually he's from Michigan, a state which has a medical cannabis law. So he's not breaking a state law only federal. Unfortunately as existentialist said, employers are not required to accommodate employees who use medical cannabis. But you're right, this is definitely a moral issue and Wal-Mart is in the wrong.

haha ok well excuse me i must have been reading the wrong article. but still just as you said.

and employer has the right to hire and fire anyone they see fit, and if they have an excuse that just makes it easier for them. in this case they had an poor excuse but they went thru with it, and now they have to deal with the morality issue of the whole thing.

I dont give a flying damn where he's from. Pot is Still ILLEGAL. HE got LEGALLY FIRED FOR DRUG USE. WalMart did the right thing.

No it was not a poor excuse to fire him. It was a great excuse. This is just real proof you cant go to work drugged up on ILLEGAL fricken drugs. WalMart was right on in their decision to fire this druggie.

well, you're doing a good job of trying to be fair, but it doesn't make sense.

are you really going to ignore it when you learn you have an employee violating federal law?
How is Wal Mart to know the guy isn't SELLING pot also?
Or stealing from the store to support his habit?

If the drug is illegal, it's illegal. It's NOT the job of the corporation to start challenging federal (not to mention state) policy.

What if they found out the guy was a habitual pedophile that was just caught up in a sting.

Are they supposed to ignore that?

What if he violated gun laws and was illegally carrying a weapon against city ordinances?

If I violated state conceal carry laws and carried a gun to work and got caught, I'd not be surprised to get fired. Even if I was legally carrying but it was against the company policy, same shit.

the real world is just a bitch, ain't it?

what makes you think the law is right? and how is it walmarts buisness if the guy IS selling pot?

see the thing here is, morally im for the guy who suffers from cancer and got fired for using what his doctor recommended.

to be honest walmart can kiss my ass. thats how i personally feel and in Michigan there is a medical cannabis law, so he wasn't breaking any state law....

However, cannabis is still prohibited under federal law, although law on cannabis for the most part has been left up to states to decide and govern.

but my point here is the fact that walmart knew he was a cancer patient that used medicinal cannabis, he showed documentation to walmart upon hiring.. so walmart knew he used cannabis for medical purposes... also the man didnt just show up to work stoned neither did he get stoned on the job...

the reason why walmart is wrong is because they already knew he used cannabis, and they knew he had cancer when they hired him...

if you were hired to work anywhere and they knew you had cancer and was a patient who used a controversial drug that was prescribed by your "DOCTOR", yet they fired you some time later because you used that controversial drug... wouldn't you be mad?

its like a person buying a used car, knowing it needs immediate repairs, and then getting pissed and selling it when it doesn't work right.

thats walmarts own dumbass fault for hiring this man. and he should get money for wasted life.... what life he does have left. very sad to say but true.

why do you care if some loser at walmart is high or not anyway?... it's friggin WALMART... "this is just real proof you cant go to work drugged up on ILLEGAL drugs" but legal ones are fine then huh? even if legal drugs kill and cripple more people each year than ALL illegal ones combined?... but they're legal so it's ok?

I DOUBT it. Fortunately, a lot of people remember the 60s, 70s and 80s when drug use was rampant and so was crime.

if drugs are so important to you, go live in Netherlands

"people remember the 60s, 70s and 80s when drug use was rampant and so was crime."... so you mean now there isn't any crime? or drug use?

"go live in the netherlands" reall? why? isn't AMERICA the land of the free?

...this is probably the dumbest thing i'd read today... but you'll post again i'm sure.

i hope for your own good you're no older than ten.

Really? I would typically consider a man with an inoperable brain tumor to garner some form of sympathy. You do realize that those afflicted with Agent Orange also use medicinal marijuana. Does this make them 'pot-heads'?
You, sir or child, are an insufferable idiot.

He DOES deserve sypathy for his brain tumor. But he deserves to be fired for being stupid enough to smoke pot while working for WalMart. Pot is still an illegal drug and walmart has no drug policies. He know they have it. They told him that when they hired him. He knows better. He got his ownself fired. WalMart did the right thing. This guy is using his own bad health to try and get himself sympathy to get his job back. He dont deserve his job back cause he smokes pot. Its NOT legal.

See? Now that's a reason to boycott Wal-Mart.

No its not a reason to boycott walmart. Walmart did the right thing in firing this pot head.

38 hour work weeks? Are you talking about child slavery etc?
http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=115

What are you talking about?

If you think it's immoral to buy products from a company that employs the poor in Asia...

Don't you think it's immoral to participate ina drug trade that kills many tens of thousands per year?

In your arrogant post, you assumed that anyone who does not agree with marijuana usage is "unbelievably ignorant".

There are those of us on this site who are quite familiar with marijuana, from past usage, and the lessons we learned about it, from watching other people's lives change drastically as a result of their drug use, and from reading studies that confirm what we had already concluded about the drug.

Hearing someone who is a current drug user proclaim "I don't have a problem, it's fine" is like hearing a drunk defend himself "I drive better when I drink".

ok sure... mj may not be for you, great glad you're wise enough to recognize that. even so, I know plenty of people who do think it's just fine for them, and who are you to tell them they can or cannot put something in their body? further more who are you to disagree with a DOCTOR who reccomends MJ to a patient, do you think you really know what's best for anyone else let alone know better than their doctor?

This man did show them his medical marijuana card, besides that this is the problem with america, nobody cares about the sick and dying they just care about themselves, and you are right Wal- mart will just move on and not care about what anyone says because money speaks. And dont tell me he's wasting his time by suing them because he has the right, just like he has the right to smoke medical marijuana.

Ah, but they ARE, in fact, in violation. You're right, they can ban illegal drug use. NO company, however, can ban a prescribed drug. (Even if it's that devil weed, sold in pill form, by drug companies).

"NO company, however, can ban a prescribed drug."
Do you have anything to back that statement up? According to American law, "any hiring is presumed to be "at will"; that is, the employer is free to discharge individuals "for good cause, or bad cause, or no cause at all," and the employee is equally free to quit, strike, or otherwise cease work."
Though several exceptions to this are found in various state laws, I have never heard of one the prohibits firing based on prescription drug use. What if a person's job required him to operate heavy machinery and he is prescribed a medicine that makes it dangerous to operate said machinery? Should the company pay him to do nothing? Or have him operate the machines at everyone's risk? Or, more logically, let him go?

Operating heavy machinery requires an operator's license, which he could not get with the condition he suffers, much less the medication. If that was his job, and he could no longer do it, then yes, he would have to be laid off. However, that would leave him eligible for unemployment benefits, which they are trying to deny him. This is like saying that someone who got hurt outside of work and could no longer perform their duty should be able to be outright fired. Through no fault of his own (if this hypothetical were the case), he would have lost the ability to perform his job. Should he be shit out of luck? If the medical marijuana made him unable to perform, then he prolly wouldn't have gotten employee of the year. In fact, I'd be willing to bet him having cancer and still performing his duties at work had something to do with him getting the award. So to fire him now, for taking medicine prescribed to him for said illness just seems unethical, if not illegal.

And no, I don't know the state laws in and out well enough to quote them, but if it's not illegal, and they can do this, yet one more reason to shove WalMart's crap right back up their asses.

The logic I used in my argument is this: could a company tell an epileptic that it's against the rules to take his epilepsy medicine? They can't not hire him, because that would be discrimination. Well, this is a prescribed medicine, just like that. How can that be legal?

well alright. Now, I don't agree with everything you've said, but here is someone who's thinking about the issue.

You are right about the heavy machinery etc, good point. I wonder, if he was prescribed Oxyconton for his pain, if they would give him disability and let him go, or what.

The problem it seems to me is that pot is not accepted still by the Feds, so they don't have treat the guy who smokes pot for his disability the same way as someone who has been legally prescribed meds that are accepted by the feds.

I think that undermines his lawsuit. It may be legal by state law, but it isn't at the federal level.

Which, by the way, is just ONE more reason to strengthen the 10 Amendment and give states more power to decide for themselves what they want to do, regarding prostitution, legalization of drugs, gay marriage, healthcare etc.

The goddamn federal government has become tyrranical and either needs some pruning, or uprooting.

I agree that if a person can perform their job satisfactory, it doesn't matter what substances they are on. With the facts presented, I think Wal-Mart is legally right but ethically wrong in this case.

that's bullshit, joe. we care about the sick, but that does NOT change the law, does it?

"You're right, they can ban illegal drug use. NO company, however, can ban a prescribed drug"

Really? So American Airlines can't fire a pilot who flies under the influence of marijuana?

Do you want a surgeon to open up your chest to replace your heart while he's high on pain killers?

It's OBVIOUS that if a hospital found a surgeon was high on pot while performing surgeries they fire the asshole and they'd have every reason to do so.

Wal Mart still has the right and the responsability to do what they did. I hope you get caught stoned at work and learn YOUR lesson.

Oh, and for everyone who wants to call me an idiot or whatever..umm, I agree that the guy has no right to boycott Wal-Mart. I just disagree that pot is illegal and yet cigarettes and alcohol are perfectly legal despite the health problems associated with excessive use of either substance.

And again, I don't smoke it. Personal preference. Makes me sleepy and hungry. Not really all that dangerous, though.

he has no right to boycott wal-mart? wow you are retarded

He's not boycotting he's suing, and that is a right, and its a good thing you don't smoke because, being sleepy and hungry are not what people use marijuana for.

He's not boycotting other people are, he has nothing to do with other people actions, he's suing and that is a right!

Opinions are like assholes...everyone has one. Keep towing the line of the establishment if you wish...it's our time and we will be heard! I completely endorse this comment.

Yes you are right, but if ever say anything against this site full of stoners you'll suffer the consequences.

Here comes the dope-head pile on.

thanks for showing everyone YOU asshole.

by the way, the first opinion was far better informed and informational than yours.

Once again opinions are like assholes...and aren't you just so opinionated?

I'm not the one acting like a 6th grader quoting the "opinions are like assholes" quote to shut people up that you don't agree with. That's you.

And you don't actually share a reasonable argument, you just insult the people who are sharng their opinions.

There's nothing wrong with having an opinion, I have one based on what I've lived, experienced, read and learned. I will share it with pride and no foul mouthed jackass like you, dude, is going to shut me down with your infantile slogans.

So, man up and share a real opinion based upon thought, reasoning, and experience, or shut the fuck up.

Dude you came on here spewing hatred towards a huge sub group of society who want nothing more than to relax with weed just like others relax with alcohol or coffee for that matter.On top of that you have next to no knowledge of the subject but yet claim to have years of experience from living and reading. Scroll down and look at the responses I have made to your posts. This comes from REAL learned knowledge, not from some dude who has nothing better than to hate people who enjoy pot.We are labeled criminals and have to face criminal prosecution...for what?! Live and let live.

I dont care if you like pot or not, its ILLEGAL to use it and the story PROVES it. Pot CAN and WILL get you fired. Its LEGAL to fire a person for using this ILLEGAL DRUG. HELLO?? Do YOU have NO BRAINS whatsoever?? Im sick of people like you trying to push YOUR drug use down our throats.

We are not trying to push marijuana "down people's throats" as you claim. We want to use it with our own discretion and without threat of incarceration. Looks like you and curtisreed are poster children for the misinformed or are just merely stupid... and you talk about people not using their brains?!

They had no reason to fire him if he had medical marijuana.

Walmart has every right to fire him. Its ILLEGAL by the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. Do YOU not get this?? ITS ILLEGALL. HELLO? Wheres your brain?

but he can show up for work still drunk or hung over and it's ok? no 'oh well' that's what makes these stupid immoral laws strong, people just say 'oh well' and don't bother to stand up and fight it. I guess if you get caught doing something illegal regardless of it being right or wrong, we'll all just say 'oh well' it's illegal. that's asking for them to take your rights away.

because dope is popular among the current dopes. they all come running to defend marijuana.

not because it's really a story.

i agree

I don't care what reason someone needs, as long as they boycott Walmart.

oh yes, they can read. they just can remember or comprehend what they read.

what was I saying?

oh nevermind, back to the bong

Im pretty sure we can read dude.

No the dopeheads are only looking at their next joint. They dont care about nothing else.

Remaining anonymous makes it easier for all of us to make fun of people who are dying. ASSHOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hey joe, let me know when you're dying so I can have a good laugh at you!

Hope your not being serious, r u cheeched or what cus if you r ill laugh with you