Editor,

Your article series on marijuana was very interesting but only mentioned once that marijuana is a Schedule I Controlled Substance as defined in section 102 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 802).

While there are currently 53 bills in Congress that address some facet of marijuana including to reschedule marijuana to Schedule II, none of them have made it out of committee.

Even though Washington state law makes it legal to use under state law, that does not mean that is permissible to use, particularly if your employer has a drug test program with a written policy in place for workplace drug testing.

Recently, on Nov. 20, 2015, the United State District Court, Western District of Washington at Seattle dismissed a case of discrimination against Safeway by an individual who used marijuana for medicinal purposes and tested positive for marijuana. This individual had a Washington state “Medical Marijuana Prescription” to use marijuana for his medical condition.

The individual took a drug test as required by Safeway policy with a subsequent test failure.

Safeway has no accommodation for users of marijuana for medical purposes in their workplaces.

Robert Schoening

Coupeville