Louisiana employees who use medical marijuana may soon receive much-needed protection from being fired, reported Marijuana Moment.
Sponsored by Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, House Bill 988 passed the Senate on Wednesday in a 26-8 vote.
The legislation, which is now heading to the governor’s desk, would also protect prospective hires from being discriminated against for use of medical cannabis. Governor John Bel Edwards signed a bill allowing medical marijuana patients to legally smoke whole-plant cannabis flower last year, just days after decriminalizing marijuana possession.
However, the new bill would not apply to certain occupations, including law enforcement and firefighters, as well as other public safety officials.
Currently, there are over 43,000 medical marijuana patients in Louisiana.
“There are a lot of people who don’t want to take opioids for their long-term PTSD and pain management because of the high possibility of addiction to opioids,” Landry told a House committee last month. “This has proved to be a better option than them.”
In the meantime, Louisiana lawmakers recently advanced four cannabis-related bills to the full Senate, aiming to relax the state’s stiff drug policies.
