cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot Caregiver Sues Cascade Steel





Medical Pot Caregiver Sues Cascade Steel
Posted by CN Staff on November 22, 2002 at 20:10:02 PT
By Matthew D. LaPlante of the News-Register 
Source: News Register 
A former employee of Cascade Steel Rolling Mills in McMinnville is suing the company for $1.46 million, alleging he was wrongfully terminated after testing positive for marijuana. Douglas Heuer, a registered caregiver in the state's medical marijuana program, contends Cascade officials engaged in unlawful employment practices, wrongful discharge and breach of good faith when they dismissed him in July 2001. 
The firing came eight months after the crane Heuer was operating damaged a power line, prompting company managers to ask the 44-year-old man to submit to drug and alcohol testing. According to court records, the testing turned up traces of marijuana and Heuer was placed on probation. Heuer contends his ex-wife, Camie Heuer, used marijuana to treat a disability and his positive test was the result of exposure to second-hand smoke. That didn't fly with Cascade officials, who told Heuer that he could return to his job of 22 years only if he tested negative for drugs. He succeeded in that in January 2001. But a followup test showed positive for marijuana a few months later, and the company told Heuer he was out of chances. Heuer contends he passed several tests, but was accused of having manipulated the results. He seeks $78,400 in lost wages and health insurance benefits, $437,000 in lost pension benefits and $950,000 in noneconomic damages stemming from alleged depression, humiliation, anger, distress and loss of dignity and self-esteem. He also blames the trauma for ending his marriage. He filed for divorce a month after his termination and Polk County Judge Charles Luukinen signed off on it last December. Heuer alleges Cascade did not have reasonable grounds to test him, and that managers failed to act in accordance with a good faith agreement after the initial test came up positive. But perhaps most significant - and seemingly untested by the courts since the 1998 passage of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act - is Heuer's claim that Cascade unlawfully fired him on the basis of his association with a disabled person, forming an erroneous perception that he was engaged in illegal use of drugs. Oregon statutes give specific protection to "a person who is erroneously regarded as engaging in the illegal use of drugs." But the statute provides no test for employers to differentiate illegal from legal use. Human Resources Manager Mike Hereford said he was not aware of the suit, but was well aware of the situation. He said the company acted lawfully in its dealings with Heuer. "We're confident that there is no basis for a lawsuit, and in the end, it will be proven what we did was completely legal," he said. Hereford said Cascade is very serious about its drug and alcohol policy. "This is a tough place to work, and we expect people to be completely drug-free," he said. Keizer attorney Michael Callahan is representing Heuer. He was unavailable for comment this morning.Newshawk: Nicholas Thimmesch II: http://www.norml.org/ Source: News Register (OR)Author: Matthew D. LaPlante of the News-Register Published: November 21, 2002Copyright: 2002 News-Register Publishing Co.Contact: jbladine newsregister.comWebsite: http://www.newsregister.com/Hemp & Cannabis Foundationhttp://www.thc-foundation.org/OMMP -- Medical Marijuana Programhttp://www.ohd.hr.state.or.us/oaps/mm/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #7 posted by p4me on November 22, 2002 at 23:23:25 PT
Cannabis should be ill-legal
Not only should cannabis be legal for the ill, it should be legal for everyone. It should be omnilegal for all adults.1
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Comment #6 posted by p4me on November 22, 2002 at 23:19:20 PT
NOW is about pills,research&advertising agencies
This should probably go under the release of the schizo propaganda. NOW with Bill Moyers is talking about how clinical studies done by independent researchers are now being done by private companies with their only revenue coming from the drug companies that want the research. Marketing companies own many of these research companies.Thank goodness someone is covering the abuse of the pill industries and their marketing techniques. This is a very good show and it goes a long way in explaining why cannabis is illegal even for the ill.1
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Comment #5 posted by p4me on November 22, 2002 at 22:45:24 PT
The unanswered questions
My opinion is this guy does not have a chance. It was within his ability to stay clean and he failed. I am just suprised they gave him a second chance.The GW Pharma's medical cannabis is going to be a reality in a year or so. One of the questions that has not been addressed very well is the issue of people from Britain or Canada traveling in America with MMJ that is totally legal in their country. I only read one reference at a Canadian website where someone said that international law would require they be allowed their medicine in this country.The other issue has to do with interstate travel and therefore interstate commerce. The man that was legal with MMJ in California under state law that was arrested in Utah, I guess is the man that will push that answer through the courts. It just makes me think of a situation where someone from Utah would go to a doctor in Nevada or California and get approved and use MMJ. I mean I could go to South Carolina and see a doctor and get a prescription. There is the obvious question exampled by the Utah arrest of the California MMJ man. But can someone from another state go into one of these other states and be legitimate with MMJ? I find this a very interesting question because people may well get bus loads of sick people and travel to load their bodies with what they need and go home. This is no far-fetched situation because people are going to do whatever they can to get help with chronic pains, much less if it is a matter of life or death.I often wondered about Robin Prosser driving to Canada and taking medicine if MMJ were more formally instituted.One thing I have learned is not to ask any questions and expect an answer. I often wonder about Robin Prosser, but I sure know better than ask about her. (Does anybody know the joke with the punchline, "I don't know, but you bet your *ss it won't be Rice Crispies?") Oh no, an accidental question.1
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on November 22, 2002 at 22:17:00 PT
Law and Order
I've never seen Law and Order before but it is about a medical marijuana grow op and involves a murder. So far it is interesting. Thought I'd pass it on.
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Comment #3 posted by VitaminT on November 22, 2002 at 22:04:01 PT
Cultural Baggage starts right now!
Tonight's guest Nora Callahan of November Coalition tune in at KPFThttp://kpftweb.mcleodusa.net/
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Comment #2 posted by DdC on November 22, 2002 at 21:56:36 PT
Coming in From the Cold
http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/34/34862.gif
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Comment #1 posted by afterburner on November 22, 2002 at 21:13:28 PT:
Winning in the Courts.
The battle for rational, scientific, and medical cannabis laws is being won through the courts and the ballot box. Keep on pushing until the Representatives and Senators have the guts to join the parade. The states were hoodwinked into supporting federal drug laws. Gradually they are opting out. We just haven't yet reached critical mass. Stop the fear. Love is but a song we sing; fear's the way we die. Just one key unlocks them both. It's there at your command. ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question and the God who answers it. 
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