Hey Marijuana Advocates, Look Here
#41
(07-14-2015, 06:22 PM)Wonky3 Wrote:
(07-14-2015, 05:48 PM)Cuzz Wrote:
(07-14-2015, 09:16 AM)Wonky3 Wrote:
(07-13-2015, 10:24 AM)Scrapper Wrote:
Quote:President Barack Obama has commuted the prison sentences of 46 drug offenders, saying they were not "hardened criminals" and their punishments didn't match the crimes they committed.


Obama said the move was part of his larger attempt to reform the criminal justice system. He is expected to speak about justice reform Tuesday at the NAACP's annual convention, and on Thursday he will become the first president to visit a federal prison.

I voted for Mr. Obama. Generally speaking, I'm glad he is the president and that Mr. Romney is not. That said, I've often been disappointed in Mr. Obama's decisions and performance in office. (Also very pleased with many of his decisions) 

This is one example. 

I think this is "executive overreach" and those in state prisons should have been released by governors or legislatures, and those in federal prisons should have been released by judges at the direction of the Attorney General. 

Is there a mechanism to even do that?

Of course not! I was suggesting that a governor or someone from the legislature dig a hole in the shower that connects to a tunnel with a motorcycle in it.  Razz
Yes, a governor can commute any sentence. Thinking about it now, I guess the legislature can't cut anyone loose. Unless of course they cut a hole in the shower and.... Laughing

I just think it strange for the president to commute the sentences of drug dealers. I think (maybe) he is trying to "send a message" that we gotta quit locking up folks for minor drug busts. Hell, if nothing else we can't afford it. And it's mute anyway: He's done it. No harm, no foul. 

OK, got it now. Maybe I should read twice and shut up.. Embarrassed
Reply
#42
(07-14-2015, 09:16 AM)Wonky3 Wrote:
(07-13-2015, 10:24 AM)Scrapper Wrote:
Quote:President Barack Obama has commuted the prison sentences of 46 drug offenders, saying they were not "hardened criminals" and their punishments didn't match the crimes they committed.


Obama said the move was part of his larger attempt to reform the criminal justice system. He is expected to speak about justice reform Tuesday at the NAACP's annual convention, and on Thursday he will become the first president to visit a federal prison.

I voted for Mr. Obama. Generally speaking, I'm glad he is the president and that Mr. Romney is not. That said, I've often been disappointed in Mr. Obama's decisions and performance in office. (Also very pleased with many of his decisions) 

This is one example. 

I think this is "executive overreach" and those in state prisons should have been released by governors or legislatures, and those in federal prisons should have been released by judges at the direction of the Attorney General. 

I have seldom read anything as confused as what you just said. Do you not know the long history of presidential commutations and pardons?

I have come to the conclusion that you like sharing opinions more you like investigating facts. Either that, or you are secretly the most calloused hard core right winger that I have seen post here. Your comments here remind me of your opinions on felons voting. Your view was more severe than any of the Republican politicians that understood the issue. You had no clue about how that issue was viewed by legal scholars, but you had an opinion.

I am not going to waste typing any further. Read this and learn: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-...-commuted/
Reply
#43
(07-14-2015, 07:55 PM)cletus1 Wrote:
(07-14-2015, 09:16 AM)Wonky3 Wrote:
(07-13-2015, 10:24 AM)Scrapper Wrote:
Quote:President Barack Obama has commuted the prison sentences of 46 drug offenders, saying they were not "hardened criminals" and their punishments didn't match the crimes they committed.


Obama said the move was part of his larger attempt to reform the criminal justice system. He is expected to speak about justice reform Tuesday at the NAACP's annual convention, and on Thursday he will become the first president to visit a federal prison.

I voted for Mr. Obama. Generally speaking, I'm glad he is the president and that Mr. Romney is not. That said, I've often been disappointed in Mr. Obama's decisions and performance in office. (Also very pleased with many of his decisions) 

This is one example. 

I think this is "executive overreach" and those in state prisons should have been released by governors or legislatures, and those in federal prisons should have been released by judges at the direction of the Attorney General. 

I have seldom read anything as confused as what you just said. Do you not know the long history of presidential commutations and pardons?

I have come to the conclusion that you like sharing opinions more you like investigating facts. Either that, or you are secretly the most calloused hard core right winger that I have seen post here. Your comments here remind me of your opinions on felons voting. Your view was more severe than any of the Republican politicians that understood the issue. You had no clue about how that issue was viewed by legal scholars, but you had an opinion.

I am not going to waste typing any further. Read this and learn: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-...-commuted/

You maybe want to start drinking a little later in the day. 
Reply
#44
(07-14-2015, 08:39 PM)Wonky3 Wrote:
(07-14-2015, 07:55 PM)cletus1 Wrote:
(07-14-2015, 09:16 AM)Wonky3 Wrote:
(07-13-2015, 10:24 AM)Scrapper Wrote:
Quote:President Barack Obama has commuted the prison sentences of 46 drug offenders, saying they were not "hardened criminals" and their punishments didn't match the crimes they committed.


Obama said the move was part of his larger attempt to reform the criminal justice system. He is expected to speak about justice reform Tuesday at the NAACP's annual convention, and on Thursday he will become the first president to visit a federal prison.

I voted for Mr. Obama. Generally speaking, I'm glad he is the president and that Mr. Romney is not. That said, I've often been disappointed in Mr. Obama's decisions and performance in office. (Also very pleased with many of his decisions) 

This is one example. 

I think this is "executive overreach" and those in state prisons should have been released by governors or legislatures, and those in federal prisons should have been released by judges at the direction of the Attorney General. 

I have seldom read anything as confused as what you just said. Do you not know the long history of presidential commutations and pardons?

I have come to the conclusion that you like sharing opinions more you like investigating facts. Either that, or you are secretly the most calloused hard core right winger that I have seen post here. Your comments here remind me of your opinions on felons voting. Your view was more severe than any of the Republican politicians that understood the issue. You had no clue about how that issue was viewed by legal scholars, but you had an opinion.

I am not going to waste typing any further. Read this and learn: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-...-commuted/

You maybe want to start drinking a little later in the day. 

OK. Now explain your rationale for eliminating or curtailing the privilege of presidents to pardon and commute prison sentences. Did you look at those insane sentences?
Reply
#45
(07-14-2015, 08:52 PM)cletus1 Wrote:
(07-14-2015, 08:39 PM)Wonky3 Wrote:
(07-14-2015, 07:55 PM)cletus1 Wrote:
(07-14-2015, 09:16 AM)Wonky3 Wrote: I voted for Mr. Obama. Generally speaking, I'm glad he is the president and that Mr. Romney is not. That said, I've often been disappointed in Mr. Obama's decisions and performance in office. (Also very pleased with many of his decisions) 

This is one example. 

I think this is "executive overreach" and those in state prisons should have been released by governors or legislatures, and those in federal prisons should have been released by judges at the direction of the Attorney General. 

I have seldom read anything as confused as what you just said. Do you not know the long history of presidential commutations and pardons?

I have come to the conclusion that you like sharing opinions more you like investigating facts. Either that, or you are secretly the most calloused hard core right winger that I have seen post here. Your comments here remind me of your opinions on felons voting. Your view was more severe than any of the Republican politicians that understood the issue. You had no clue about how that issue was viewed by legal scholars, but you had an opinion.

I am not going to waste typing any further. Read this and learn: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-...-commuted/

You maybe want to start drinking a little later in the day. 

OK. Now explain your rationale for eliminating or curtailing the privilege of presidents to pardon and commute prison sentences. Did you look at those insane sentences?

Yes, I looked. Reread them. It was only my OPINION that I felt the president was "overreaching" in these cases. He has the RIGHT, and I never disputed that. Given all that on his plate right now I would have thought he had more pressing things to attend to. You know....stuff in Iran and ISIL, trade policies in flux, and so on. But hey, he is the MAN, and can do whatever he wants when he wants to do it.
Repeating: It was ONLY my opinion and I wondered if this could have been done by other authorities. Guess not.

By the way, because I feel convicted felons should lose the right to vote (there are consequences to our actions) does not make me a right right, anything. Obviously, it's a minority opinion because as you pointed out felons can vote in many states. Again, just a personal opinion: Not suggesting a policy shift for cryin' out loud. 
Reply
#46
In Sweeping Speech, Obama Calls for Enfranchising Felons and Limiting Solitary Confinement

Leon NeyfakhPosted: Tue, Jul 14, 2015, at 04:30 PM PDT

President Barack Obama addresses attendees at the 106th NAACP national convention on July 14, 2015 in Philadephia, Pennsylvania. 

President Obama just gave a major speech calling for criminal justice reform. The speech presented an expansive yet detailed argument not only for reducing the number of people serving time in prison, but for changing the way prison time is spent so that individuals return to society better-equipped to succeed.   

The speech, delivered in Philadelphia at the annual conference of the NAACP, comes one day after the president commuted the sentences of 46 nonviolent drug offenders serving time in federal prison, and one day before a scheduled visit to a federal prison in Oklahoma.

The speech was wide-ranging—Obama said he wanted to talk about proposals “in the community, in the courtroom, and in the cellblock”—but was built upon a basic thesis, that the American criminal justice system “is not as fair as it should be,” and that “while the people in our prisons have made some mistakes, and sometimes big mistakes, they are also Americans.”

“Mass incarceration makes our country worse off,” Obama said, “and we need to do something about it.”
Obama emphasized the disproportionate effect that the past 30 years of criminal justice have had on black and Hispanic Americans, noting that they make up 30 percent of the general population but roughly 60 percent of the incarcerated population. He also called for reinvestment in underprivileged communities, making the argument that unless money is spent on creating opportunities for people who might otherwise resort to crime, justice reform will only go so far.

“We can’t ask our police, or our prosecutors, or our prison guards, or our judges to bear the entire burden of containing and controlling problems that the rest of us are not facing up to and aren’t willing to do something about,” he said, adding, “Today I’ve been talking about the criminal justice system, but we have to recognize that it’s not something that we can view in isolation. Any system that allows us to turn a blind eye to hopelessness and despair—that’s not a justice system. It’s an injustice system. But that’s an extension and a reflection of some broader decisions that we’re making as a society. And that has to change.”

The speech broke at least two pieces of news. First, the president expressed full-throated support for re-enfranchising convicted felons who have served their time. “If folks have served their time, and they’ve re-entered society, they should be able to vote,” he said, to loud applause. Such a change would affect approximately 4 million people around the country who currently cannot vote because of their criminal records, even though they are no longer incarcerated.

Second, Obama called for prisons around the country to take a hard look at the use of solitary confinement and revealed that he had asked Attorney General Loretta Lynch to “start a review of the overuse of solitary confinement across American prisons.” (On the official POTUS Twitter, Obama was quoted in a way that made clear the attorney general would only be looking at federal prisons.)

“The social science shows that an environment like that is often more likely to make inmates more alienated, more hostile, more violent,” Obama said. “Do we really think it makes sense to lock so many people alone in tiny cells for 23 hours a day for months, sometimes for years, at a time? That is not going to make us safer. That’s not going to make us stronger. And if those individuals are ultimately released, how are they ever going to adapt? It’s not smart. Our prisons should be a place where we can train people for skills that can help them find a job, not train them to become more hardened criminals.”

Toward the end of the speech, the president sounded a personal note, echoing a comment he madeafter the death of Trayvon Martin. You can watch that clip here:

“There are times when people say, ‘Oh, the President—he’s too optimistic.’ Or, ‘He’s not talking enough about how bad things are.’ Let me tell you something—I see what happens. My heart breaks when I see families who are impacted. I spend time with those families, and feel their grief. I see those young men on street corners, and eventually, in prisons. And I think to myself, they could be me. That the main difference between me and them is that I had a more forgiving environment, so that when I slipped up, when I made a mistake, I had a second chance, and they’ve got no margin for error.”
Reply
#47
(07-15-2015, 03:53 AM)cletus1 Wrote: In Sweeping Speech, Obama Calls for Enfranchising Felons and Limiting Solitary Confinement

Leon NeyfakhPosted: Tue, Jul 14, 2015, at 04:30 PM PDT

President Barack Obama addresses attendees at the 106th NAACP national convention on July 14, 2015 in Philadephia, Pennsylvania. 

President Obama just gave a major speech calling for criminal justice reform. The speech presented an expansive yet detailed argument not only for reducing the number of people serving time in prison, but for changing the way prison time is spent so that individuals return to society better-equipped to succeed.   

The speech, delivered in Philadelphia at the annual conference of the NAACP, comes one day after the president commuted the sentences of 46 nonviolent drug offenders serving time in federal prison, and one day before a scheduled visit to a federal prison in Oklahoma.

The speech was wide-ranging—Obama said he wanted to talk about proposals “in the community, in the courtroom, and in the cellblock”—but was built upon a basic thesis, that the American criminal justice system “is not as fair as it should be,” and that “while the people in our prisons have made some mistakes, and sometimes big mistakes, they are also Americans.”

“Mass incarceration makes our country worse off,” Obama said, “and we need to do something about it.”
Obama emphasized the disproportionate effect that the past 30 years of criminal justice have had on black and Hispanic Americans, noting that they make up 30 percent of the general population but roughly 60 percent of the incarcerated population. He also called for reinvestment in underprivileged communities, making the argument that unless money is spent on creating opportunities for people who might otherwise resort to crime, justice reform will only go so far.

“We can’t ask our police, or our prosecutors, or our prison guards, or our judges to bear the entire burden of containing and controlling problems that the rest of us are not facing up to and aren’t willing to do something about,” he said, adding, “Today I’ve been talking about the criminal justice system, but we have to recognize that it’s not something that we can view in isolation. Any system that allows us to turn a blind eye to hopelessness and despair—that’s not a justice system. It’s an injustice system. But that’s an extension and a reflection of some broader decisions that we’re making as a society. And that has to change.”

The speech broke at least two pieces of news. First, the president expressed full-throated support for re-enfranchising convicted felons who have served their time. “If folks have served their time, and they’ve re-entered society, they should be able to vote,” he said, to loud applause. Such a change would affect approximately 4 million people around the country who currently cannot vote because of their criminal records, even though they are no longer incarcerated.

Second, Obama called for prisons around the country to take a hard look at the use of solitary confinement and revealed that he had asked Attorney General Loretta Lynch to “start a review of the overuse of solitary confinement across American prisons.” (On the official POTUS Twitter, Obama was quoted in a way that made clear the attorney general would only be looking at federal prisons.)

“The social science shows that an environment like that is often more likely to make inmates more alienated, more hostile, more violent,” Obama said. “Do we really think it makes sense to lock so many people alone in tiny cells for 23 hours a day for months, sometimes for years, at a time? That is not going to make us safer. That’s not going to make us stronger. And if those individuals are ultimately released, how are they ever going to adapt? It’s not smart. Our prisons should be a place where we can train people for skills that can help them find a job, not train them to become more hardened criminals.”

Toward the end of the speech, the president sounded a personal note, echoing a comment he madeafter the death of Trayvon Martin. You can watch that clip here:

“There are times when people say, ‘Oh, the President—he’s too optimistic.’ Or, ‘He’s not talking enough about how bad things are.’ Let me tell you something—I see what happens. My heart breaks when I see families who are impacted. I spend time with those families, and feel their grief. I see those young men on street corners, and eventually, in prisons. And I think to myself, they could be me. That the main difference between me and them is that I had a more forgiving environment, so that when I slipped up, when I made a mistake, I had a second chance, and they’ve got no margin for error.”
I'm generally appreciative of our president's conduct, voted for him, would again, and understand he has the toughest job on the planet. 
In a previous post I suggested he might be guilty of "overreaching" and something he said in the piece above only confirms my suspicion that it might be true. 

He says, above:
"We can’t ask our police, or our prosecutors, or our prison guards, or our judges to bear the entire burden of containing and controlling problems that the rest of us are not facing up to and aren’t willing to do something about,” he said, adding, “Today I’ve been talking about the criminal justice system, but we have to recognize that it’s not something that we can view in isolation. Any system that allows us to turn a blind eye to hopelessness and despair—that’s not a justice system. It’s an injustice system. But that’s an extension and a reflection of some broader decisions that we’re making as a society. And that has to change.”


..."and that has to change". But he has no concrete suggestion as to how we, the citizens who live out here, should go about making those changes. He says we can't turn a blind eye to hopelessness and despair. I get that. But Clete, what are you and I going to do to make things different? 


So, I'm hoping you have some suggestions about how we (who live here in the real world) are going to help those who feel hopeless and desperate. Because the truth is, that all too often when folks feel they have no hope and are desperate,  do "bad" things and those bad things are directed toward those of us who live lawful lives. 


I must be missing something here. I hope you can help me understand it. 
Reply
#48
(07-15-2015, 08:10 AM)Wonky3 Wrote:
(07-15-2015, 03:53 AM)cletus1 Wrote: In Sweeping Speech, Obama Calls for Enfranchising Felons and Limiting Solitary Confinement

Leon NeyfakhPosted: Tue, Jul 14, 2015, at 04:30 PM PDT

President Barack Obama addresses attendees at the 106th NAACP national convention on July 14, 2015 in Philadephia, Pennsylvania. 

President Obama just gave a major speech calling for criminal justice reform. The speech presented an expansive yet detailed argument not only for reducing the number of people serving time in prison, but for changing the way prison time is spent so that individuals return to society better-equipped to succeed.   

The speech, delivered in Philadelphia at the annual conference of the NAACP, comes one day after the president commuted the sentences of 46 nonviolent drug offenders serving time in federal prison, and one day before a scheduled visit to a federal prison in Oklahoma.

The speech was wide-ranging—Obama said he wanted to talk about proposals “in the community, in the courtroom, and in the cellblock”—but was built upon a basic thesis, that the American criminal justice system “is not as fair as it should be,” and that “while the people in our prisons have made some mistakes, and sometimes big mistakes, they are also Americans.”

“Mass incarceration makes our country worse off,” Obama said, “and we need to do something about it.”
Obama emphasized the disproportionate effect that the past 30 years of criminal justice have had on black and Hispanic Americans, noting that they make up 30 percent of the general population but roughly 60 percent of the incarcerated population. He also called for reinvestment in underprivileged communities, making the argument that unless money is spent on creating opportunities for people who might otherwise resort to crime, justice reform will only go so far.

“We can’t ask our police, or our prosecutors, or our prison guards, or our judges to bear the entire burden of containing and controlling problems that the rest of us are not facing up to and aren’t willing to do something about,” he said, adding, “Today I’ve been talking about the criminal justice system, but we have to recognize that it’s not something that we can view in isolation. Any system that allows us to turn a blind eye to hopelessness and despair—that’s not a justice system. It’s an injustice system. But that’s an extension and a reflection of some broader decisions that we’re making as a society. And that has to change.”

The speech broke at least two pieces of news. First, the president expressed full-throated support for re-enfranchising convicted felons who have served their time. “If folks have served their time, and they’ve re-entered society, they should be able to vote,” he said, to loud applause. Such a change would affect approximately 4 million people around the country who currently cannot vote because of their criminal records, even though they are no longer incarcerated.

Second, Obama called for prisons around the country to take a hard look at the use of solitary confinement and revealed that he had asked Attorney General Loretta Lynch to “start a review of the overuse of solitary confinement across American prisons.” (On the official POTUS Twitter, Obama was quoted in a way that made clear the attorney general would only be looking at federal prisons.)

“The social science shows that an environment like that is often more likely to make inmates more alienated, more hostile, more violent,” Obama said. “Do we really think it makes sense to lock so many people alone in tiny cells for 23 hours a day for months, sometimes for years, at a time? That is not going to make us safer. That’s not going to make us stronger. And if those individuals are ultimately released, how are they ever going to adapt? It’s not smart. Our prisons should be a place where we can train people for skills that can help them find a job, not train them to become more hardened criminals.”

Toward the end of the speech, the president sounded a personal note, echoing a comment he madeafter the death of Trayvon Martin. You can watch that clip here:

“There are times when people say, ‘Oh, the President—he’s too optimistic.’ Or, ‘He’s not talking enough about how bad things are.’ Let me tell you something—I see what happens. My heart breaks when I see families who are impacted. I spend time with those families, and feel their grief. I see those young men on street corners, and eventually, in prisons. And I think to myself, they could be me. That the main difference between me and them is that I had a more forgiving environment, so that when I slipped up, when I made a mistake, I had a second chance, and they’ve got no margin for error.”
I'm generally appreciative of our president's conduct, voted for him, would again, and understand he has the toughest job on the planet. 
In a previous post I suggested he might be guilty of "overreaching" and something he said in the piece above only confirms my suspicion that it might be true. 

He says, above:
"We can’t ask our police, or our prosecutors, or our prison guards, or our judges to bear the entire burden of containing and controlling problems that the rest of us are not facing up to and aren’t willing to do something about,” he said, adding, “Today I’ve been talking about the criminal justice system, but we have to recognize that it’s not something that we can view in isolation. Any system that allows us to turn a blind eye to hopelessness and despair—that’s not a justice system. It’s an injustice system. But that’s an extension and a reflection of some broader decisions that we’re making as a society. And that has to change.”


..."and that has to change". But he has no concrete suggestion as to how we, the citizens who live out here, should go about making those changes. He says we can't turn a blind eye to hopelessness and despair. I get that. But Clete, what are you and I going to do to make things different? 


So, I'm hoping you have some suggestions about how we (who live here in the real world) are going to help those who feel hopeless and desperate. Because the truth is, that all too often when folks feel they have no hope and are desperate,  do "bad" things and those bad things are directed toward those of us who live lawful lives. 


I must be missing something here. I hope you can help me understand it. 

I will respond more later. I am actually working today and just home for lunch. What can we do? Support sentencing reform which is one thing Obama is trying to do. And not just him, many Republicans are on board as well. You saw the list of people he pardoned right? Well, not locking up mid level drug offenders for life will save the tax payers a lot of money. Also, a society is judged on its sense of fairness. Tell me how life sentences for non violent drug offenders makes sense in a country that let's murders and rapists out of jail at some point, usually after 8 to 15 years depending on the circumstances?

Later dude
Reply
#49
Releasing drug dealers... There goes the market place.
Competition is getting pretty fierce. A guy can't make a living anymore.
Reply
#50
Obama should be in a federal prison on the other side of the bars, along with that scum bag Valerie Jarrett. Every single one of them is tied to Tony Rezko.
Reply
#51
(07-15-2015, 05:25 PM)orygunluvr Wrote: Obama should be in a federal prison on the other side of the bars, along with that scum bag Valerie Jarrett. Every single one of them is tied to Tony Rezko.

Isn't it great to live in a country where you can rant without being rational and still remain free to live among the regular folks? 
Reply
#52
OL is nothing if not consistent.
Reply
#53
(07-17-2015, 03:21 AM)bbqboy Wrote: OL is nothing if not consistent.

It's good to be consistent when working toward a goal (for instance).

To remain consistent in insisting sun resolves around the earth is to remain ignorant. 

What we value defines us. 
Reply
#54
Clinton released a bunch of felons in exchange for campaign contributions and contributions to his retirement fund (foundation) I wonder what Obama expects in return---drugs for the rest of his life?
Reply
#55
(07-18-2015, 11:36 AM)minuteman Wrote: Clinton released a bunch of felons in exchange for campaign contributions and contributions to his retirement fund (foundation) I wonder what Obama expects in return---drugs for the rest of his life?
Living with that kind of cynicism must take it's toll. Or was it meant to be a joke?  If so, I think it's a bad joke. 
Reply
#56
Tough!!!!
Reply
#57
What's tough? You?
Wonky will fight you. He'll
fight anyone
Reply
#58
Interesting stuff on Presidential pardons

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pe...ted_States



I didn't know Jimmy Hoffa got a pardon.
Reply
#59
...and William Calley, Larry's hero.
Reply
#60
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/orego...a-32672061

Quote:Oregon TV Anchor Fired After Testing Positive for Marijuana

An [/url]Oregon television anchor has turned into a marijuana activist after being fired for testing positive for the drug.

Cyd Maurer, a morning weekend anchor at Eugene's ABC affiliate KEZI-TV, said she was fired in May after getting into a minor accident while on assignment. In a video posted online, Maurer said that after the accident she was forced to take a drug test per company policy and failed it.
Maurer, 25, said she was completely sober at work and had used the marijuana several days before. Studies show marijuana, unlike alcohol, can be detected in some people for days after use — or even weeks, in case of frequent users.
Maurer, who has been working in television for the past three years and is a University of Oregon graduate, said she didn't do anything wrong and felt the firing was discriminatory.
"I don't fit the lazy stupid loser stereotype," she said, adding she's a responsible user and has never come to work impaired.
KEZI general manager Mike Boring declined comment. "We do not discuss personnel matters," Boring said.
Recreational marijuana became legal in Oregon in July, after Maurer was fired. But even if the incident had happened after legalization, according to the state, KEZI still would have had the right to have a testing policy. Measure 91, which legalized possession and consumption, does not affect existing employment law. Employers who require drug testing can continue to do so, Oregon officials said.
Marijuana is still illegal under federal law, even though more than twenty states — including Oregon — allow medical marijuana use. Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington state and Washington, D.C., also allow recreational use.
Kate Kennedy, a spokeswoman for the Society for Human Resource Management, said the organization has received numerous questions from members around the country about the effects of changing state marijuana laws on drug testing. At two national conferences this year, she said, training sessions about drug testing were packed to overflowing.
"HR professionals are trying to keep up to date with laws and make sure their policies incorporate the changing landscape legally," Kennedy said.
In June, a court in Colorado ruled that a medical marijuana patient who was fired after failing a drug test cannot get his job back. The patient, a quadriplegic, said he didn't use the drug at work. The company, [url=http://abcnews.go.com/topics/business/companies/dish-network.htm]Dish Network
, agreed that he wasn't high on the job, but it said it has a zero-tolerance drug policy.
The Colorado justices ruled that because marijuana is illegal under federal law, use of the drug couldn't be considered legal off-duty activity.
The case was being watched closely by employers and pot smokers in states that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana. Supreme courts in California, Montana and Washington state have made similar rulings in the past.
Over a decade ago in Oregon, a forklift driver who had a medical marijuana card was also fired after taking a drug test following an accident at work. The state found no evidence he had been impaired on the job.
But Maurer, the fired anchor, said she was tired of hiding the use of a substance that's now legal in the state and wants to start a conversation about the drug. She's also planning a new career in the marijuana industry.
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